


Fury of a Wolf and Temper of a Dragon

by listenerrayne



Series: Fury of a Wolf and Temper of a Dragon [1]
Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-16
Updated: 2014-10-14
Packaged: 2018-02-13 10:25:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 35,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2147223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/listenerrayne/pseuds/listenerrayne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver Storm-Cloud is coming back to Skyrim to become a Companion, but discovers that he is Dragonborn, and a girl named Lilliana. What will he pursue? Lilliana? His destiny as Dragonborn? His career as a Companion? Or will this all end in disaster? (Male Dragonborn/Female Dragonborn) (Rated M for sexual suggestions, language, and werewolves.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome to Skyrim

Oliver was just waking up. He was . . . in a wagon. Why am I in a wagon? He thought.

“Where am I?” he mumbled. A blonde-haired Nord dressed in blue and gray looked up at him. Seeing his armor, the Imperials that were driving the wagons, and Ulfric Stormcloak sitting beside him, Oliver already had a good idea of what happened: he was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

“Oh, you’re finally awake. You were caught trying to cross the border. You were arrested, but you did get across the border . . . We were caught in that Imperial ambush at Darkwater Crossing, and that thief over there!” said the Nord in front of him.

“Damn you, Stormcloaks! Everything was fine until you showed up; Empire was nice and lazy. If it wasn’t for you, I could have stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell by now!” sneered the brown-haired man sitting next to the Nord with blonde hair.

“Hmph, by the way, my name’s Ralof,” Said the armored man in front of him.

“Oliver. Nice to meet you before I die,” Oliver said, fake enthusiasm in his voice. Ralof laughed.

“Shut up back there!” the Imperial that was driving their cart yelled back at them. Ralof scoffed.

They came upon a gate.

“This is Helgen . . . used to be sweet on a girl from here . . . wonder if Vilad is still making that mead with Juniper berries in it . . .” Ralof mumbled. The cart continued on through the city. Citizens watched from their porches as they passed by. They came to a clearing and began to stop.

“W-why are we stopping?” asked the horse-thief.

“Why do you think? It’s the end of the line,” Ralof said to the man, harshly.

“Come on, come on; don’t keep the Gods waiting!” said one of the Imperial officers that was ushering them out of the wagons. They each stepped off, one by one, to the ground in front of the Legion soldiers. Names were called out, people walked forward; it was all a blur to Oliver. He just wanted to get this over with. He knew he was going to die.

“You, who are you?” asked a Nord in Imperial armor in front of him.

“Oliver Storm-Cloud,” He answered.

“Capitan, he’s not on the list. What should we do?” asked the Imperial soldier in front of him.

“On the list or not, he goes to the block!” she ordered.

“I’m sorry. At least you’ll be able to die in your homeland,” Said the soldier in front of Oliver, his sadness obvious. 

Oliver followed the captain to where the other prisoners were, and General Tullius, head of the Imperial Legion in Skyrim, started to speak to Ulfric Stormcloak, a traitor. 

“Ulfric Stormcloak. You murdered the High King of Skyrim and your actions have caused chaos, and now the Empire is going to put you down!”

Oliver knew about the Civil War in Skyrim. It was all because of the Great War, thirty years ago. The Aldmeri Dominion, or Thalmor, invaded Cyrodiil. It was a long and hard fight, and the elves ended up winning. When the Emperor surrendered, the White-Gold Concordat was made, which outlawed the worship of Talos, the Ninth Divine. This made the Nords of Skyrim furious.

Ulfric Stormcloak fought in the Great War. After careful planning, Ulfric rebelled against the Empire. He, and many other Nords, thought that the Empire was weak for bowing to the Dominion. Oliver, however, was on the Empire’s side. He knew that once the rebellion stopped, the Empire could be at its full strength, and kick the Thalmor out. The Thalmor most likely wanted a Stormcloak win, anyway. With the new government of Skyrim, a weak one at first, the Thalmor could easily take over Skyrim all together. No one wanted that.

Just after General Tullius quit speaking, a strange noise echoed around them.

“What was that?” asked an Imperial soldier.

“It’s nothing. Carry on,” Tullius commanded.

“Yes, General Tullius!” said the captain, “Give them their last rights.” She commanded a priest of Arkay.

“As we commend your souls to Atherius, blessings of the Eight--“ she started.

“Shut up, and let’s get this over with!” screamed a Stormcloak soldier as he walked up to the block.

“As you wish,” snarled the Priest. The headsman raised his axe, and brought it down on the soldier’s neck. The unusual sound echoed around them again.

“There it is again. Did you hear that?” asked the same Imperial soldier. Everyone ignored him.

“Next, the Nord in the rags!” the captain ordered, pointing to Oliver. He walked forward and stood before the block, waiting to be pushed down. When he was, the headsman raised his axe, and just over his shoulder, Oliver saw the outline of a dragon.

That’s when the chaos started.

“Dragon!” screamed someone.

“What in Oblivion is that?” shouted General Tullius.

“Hey, kinsman, get up! The Gods won’t give us another chance!” Ralof shouted at Oliver. Both men ran to a tower, where Ulfric was waiting for them.

Two Stormcloak soldiers were curled up on the floor behind them, being tended to by another soldier. 

“What was that thing? Are the legends true?” Ralof asked the Jarl.

“Legends don’t burn down villages,” Ulfric answered.

“Up the tower, let’s go!” Ralof said. Oliver and Ralof ran up the tower. After they ascended the first flight of steps, the dragon broke a hole through the wall and blew fire at them. Ralof and Oliver dodged it, but another soldier wasn’t as lucky. “Jump through the roof to the inn on the other side and keep going! I’ll catch up to you later!”

Oliver jumped and landed on the other side with a thud. He found the Imperial soldier that was calling out names earlier; he was helping a man and boy get to safety. He did just in time, too, because right after they took shelter, the dragon landed and blew fire right where they were standing. The dragon was black as night. Its eyes were blood red, and it had spikes covering its back. After it blew a steady stream of fire on the ground, it took off again.

“Stay here! I need to find General Tullius and join the defense!” yelled the soldier.

“Gods guide you, Hadvar!” screamed the man.

“Prisoner, you’re alive! Keep close to me if you want to stay that way!” Hadvar yelled to Oliver. They both began to run to the keep. 

“Hadvar, to the keep, soldier, we’re leaving!” screamed another soldier to Hadvar. On the way, they met up with Ralof again.

“Ralof, you damn traitor!” Hadvar yelled to the Stormcloak soldier.

“Oliver, with me!” Ralof shouted to Oliver. He followed Ralof into the keep. “Here, let me get those bindings off,” Ralof said to Oliver. He held his hands out, and Ralof cut the bindings with a dagger.

Together, Ralof and Oliver went through the keep. Oliver obtained a set of Stormcloak gear: a blue and gray Stormcloak cuirass, fur boots and gauntlets, and a steel greatsword. He and Ralof encountered many Imperial soldiers, frostbite spiders, and a bear in the tunnels under the keep. Oliver thought they would never get out, but they did. 

“Get down!” Ralof said as they exited the caves. The dragon flew over them and to some mountains. “Glad that’s over. My sister, Gerdur, lives in Riverwood. I’m sure she’ll help us,” Ralof said and started walking down the path. 

The roads were vacant, mostly. The two men walked in silence, until they came to the Guardian Stones. 

“The Guardian Stones . . .” Oliver mumbled, pushing a lock of his shaggy brown hair out of his face.

“Aye, three of the ancient standing stones that dot Skyrim’s landscape. Go ahead, chose one,” Ralof confirmed.

“All right,” Oliver walked up and chose the Warrior stone with no hesitation or second thought. He knew what he wanted to do when this was all over: become a Companion like his grandfather. He would have done this sooner, but at a young age, his mother moved him to Cyrodiil so she could marry a nobleman. She took him away from his dream that she knew he had, and he would never forgive her for taking him away from his home, his family, friends, and his grandfather, that was most likely dead for all Oliver knew. He just wanted to get his life back . . . the life he preferred.

“A warrior, eh, you seem the type,” Ralof commented. Soon enough, they made it to Riverwood, and talked to Ralof’s sister. She informed Oliver that she would be glad to help, but he would be doing Riverwood a service by telling the Jarl of Whiterun about the dragon threat. Oliver had no problem doing it; he knew that Jorrvaskr, home of the Companions, was located there, and that he could join after he talked to the Jarl.

Oliver moved down the road without a word, meeting a few wolves on the way. When he came to a clearing, he saw Whiterun, and Dragonsreach, the Jarl’s palace, standing high above the city. Oliver picked up his pace a bit, wanting to get there quickly. Most things were quiet, with the occasional guard passing or a fox running by, but when Oliver neared a farm, hell broke loose. A giant was wreaking havoc on the crops, and out of nowhere, an arrow whizzed by Oliver’s head, and planted itself firmly into the giant’s neck. The beast screamed in anger, making Oliver realize what was happening.

He pulled out his greatsword, ran to the giant, and began hacking and slashing at its legs. More warriors appeared out of nowhere and began helping him fight off the beast. Oliver never got a good look at them before he had to continue fighting it. Several minutes later, the giant fell with a thud. Oliver let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and sheathed his greatsword. He was trying to catch his breath and was wiping sweat off of his forehead when a woman with a bow in her hands ran up to him. He immediately noticed her armor, and how revealing it was. Averting his eyes to her face, he looked into dark brown eyes surrounded by fiery red hair. She had war paint across her face in stripes and a fierce look on her face. Oliver liked her as soon as he saw her. 

“Thanks for helping us take down that giant . . . You have fire . . . The old man would like you . . . Ever heard of the Companions?” she asked.

“Aye. I was actually going to join after I talked to the jarl,” Oliver said, almost unable to contain his excitement. These people were Companions?

Two more people appeared behind the red-haired woman: a huge man in steel armor, and a small Imperial woman wearing furs. They both seemed to approve of him. 

“We’ll welcome you with open arms, if you follow our rules,” Said the red-haired woman. 

“All right,” Oliver replied, starting to walk up to Whiterun with the warriors. They got ahead of him, what with Oliver walking at a slow pace, looking at everything. It had been years since he was last here, but everything still looked the same. 

“Halt. The city’s closed what with the dragons about,” A guard said to Oliver when he tried to enter Whiterun. This confused Oliver. Even if you locked the gates, a dragon could still fly over the walls. Some people can be idiots . . . Oliver thought.

“Riverwood calls for the Jarl’s aid. I was sent to inform the Jarl of the dragon threat,” Oliver said.

“All right, but we’ll be watching you,” The guard said as he unlocked the gate for Oliver. 

When Oliver walked into the city, he immediately felt at home. The city looked just as he remembered it. Although he was five when he left, he remembered how the people behind their market stands always adored him. People said he’d make a great Companion one day. Sadly, he didn’t remember who they were, so he couldn’t be reacquainted with them.  
A woman wearing a blacksmith’s apron worked at a forge right by the gates, at a shop called “Warmaiden’s”. A small house stood by the blacksmith’s shop, and seemed to be for sale. Across the street, a fletcher’s shop called the “Drunken Huntsman” stood. Down the path, the inn, an alchemist’s shop, and a general goods store stood in a half circle. There were three market stands standing near the stairs to the left, leading up to the Wind district, where most of the houses were. 

“Fresh vegetables for sale! Right from the fields and orchards of Whiterun to your table!” said a woman standing behind one stall. A Bosmer man was ranting about his meat, and an older woman was selling weapons made by “the best smith in Skyrim”. Oliver guessed her husband worked the Skyforge, and remembered that a Gray-Mane always worked it. I wonder if the Gray-Manes and Battle-Borns are still good friends… Oliver thought. His question was quickly answered when some Battle-Borns started harassing the older Gray-Mane selling weapons. 

“When did they start feuding?” Oliver asked a woman who was holding a flower basket.

“The Gray-Manes and Battle-Borns? Since the Civil War started and the Gray-Manes took Stormcloak’s side and the Battle-Borns took the Empire’s side, they can’t stand the sight of each other,” She answered.

“That’s awful. They used to be such good friends,” Oliver said. 

“It’s a shame,” she agreed. Oliver continued up the steps and walked around the Gildergreen. A man was screaming about Talos in front of his shrine. To Oliver, he seemed a little insane. Oliver continued up the stairs to Dragonsreach. Once he entered the palace, he saw the Jarl, his steward, and his housecarl having an argument. Once the Dumner housecarl saw Oliver, she unsheathed her blade and walked towards the big Nord man that had just entered the palace, uninvited.

“What is your business here? The Jarl is not accepting visitors?” she asked.

“I bring news about the dragon attack on Helgen,” Oliver replied.

“Well, that explains why the guards let you in. Come on, the Jarl will want to speak to you personally,” She stated. Oliver followed her to the Jarl’s throne, making the man look up.

“What brings you here?” he asked.

“I bring news from Helgen and Riverwood,” Oliver replied, “Helgen was destroyed. I saw the whole thing, and escaped. The dragon flew to the mountains west of Riverwood, and the villagers there said that I should tell you that they need more guards.”

“Yes, thank you. You have done me a service and helped my people. Proventus, send more troops to Riverwood right away,” Ordered the Jarl to his steward.

“But Jarl Balgruuf, the Jarl of Falkreath will assume we are preparing to join Ulfric’s side and attack him! He--“ whined the balding man Oliver assumed was the steward.

“I don’t care! I won’t sit quietly while a dragon burns my Hold and slaughters my people!” protested the Jarl.

“Yes, my Jarl. I will return to my duties,” Proventus said.

“You know about dragons; perhaps you can assist my court-mage, Farengar, with his work on the dragons,” stated the Jarl.

“Sure,” Oliver answered. He followed the Jarl into a side room where a man in robes was reading a book. When he saw the Jarl and an unknown stranger walk up, he looked up.

“Yes, my Jarl?” he asked.

“Farengar, I have someone that can help you with your research on the dragons,” Balgruuf gestured to Oliver, then turned and left.

“Ah, another one of the brutes the Jarl sends me. Ah, no matter. I need you to go somewhere and fetch something for me,” Farengar said.

“All right, where am I going and what am I fetching?” Oliver asked, not really wanting to do the job.

“Someone with business sense . . . perhaps the Jarl finally sent me someone good . . . Well, when I say fetch, I really mean delve into an ancient ruin to find a stone tablet that may or may not be there. I need you to get the Dragonstone from Bleak Falls Barrow for me. It’s a map of dragon burials. Go through the crypt, west of Riverwood, and get to the main chamber. That’s most likely where it is. Some villagers in Riverwood should be able to direct you to the path. You’ll know the stone when you see it; it should be distinctive,” Farengar said with many pauses and nervous back-of-the-neck-rubbing. Oliver almost couldn’t contain his laughter.

“All right,” Oliver said, barely containing a hint of amusement, “I’ll be back.” He didn’t want to do the job, but there really was no refusing the Jarl. Oliver had some sense, and knew there was no use in arguing. He nodded his goodbye to the wizard and left the palace.

The sun was starting to set, signaling the end of the day. It was then that Oliver felt the full effect of his tiredness. He walked down the steps to the Gildergreen, a large, dying tree in the middle of the Wind district of Whiterun, and stopped. He looked up at Jorrvaskr; the mead hall was practically radiating warmth and mead, which were two things Oliver wanted most right now, besides a bed. He wanted to go in, but decided against it; he didn’t want to get caught up in the Companions when he still had business to do for the Jarl.  
Oliver continued to walk to the marketplace, take a left, and go into the Bannered Mare, Whiterun’s inn. Many patrons were inside, talking and laughing, all while drinking tankard after tankard of mead. Oliver’s eyes skimmed over the people, and stopped on the bard, who was trying his hardest to seduce a woman he saw selling vegetables earlier, and she was clearly rejecting him. Oliver stood and watched the interaction for a second. The bard, Mikael, was throwing himself at Carlotta, but she refused. He wouldn’t take no for an answer, and kept pestering her. Oliver could tell she didn’t like it one bit, but because she was a woman and most Nords underestimated women, she couldn’t do a thing about it; Oliver could. 

“Hey, pretty boy! She doesn’t want to be bothered with! Leave her alone! Can’t you tell what a ‘no’ is when you hear one?” Oliver asked.

“What are you talking about? Carlotta likes me; she just doesn’t know it yet!” Mikael countered. Carlotta’s frantic shaking of the head said otherwise. 

“Quit lying to yourself! You know she doesn’t like you, and your musical little heart won’t take no for an answer! Just leave the woman be!”

Mikael fell silent, as did the rest of the tavern. For what seemed like the longest, you could hear a pin drop, until the blonde-headed man spoke again. “I guess you’re right,” he turned to Carlotta, who looked shocked at his words, “I’m sorry Carlotta; I won’t bother you anymore.”

“T-thank you, Mikael,” she nodded her head in thanks. Mikael went back to his corner and started to strum on his lute once more, filling the building with music. Talking started again and soon it was as if nothing had happened. 

Oliver walked over to the counter and took a seat in front of the innkeeper, Hulda, and was about to order when Carlotta came up to him.  
“Thank you very much for telling Mikael to stop bothering me. I’ve tried, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer, as you could see,” she said with a laugh, “I’m glad someone finally set him straight. May I ask your name?”

“Oliver, nice to meet you,” Oliver said with a nod of his head. 

“I’ve never seen you in Whiterun before; where are you from?”

“Just a traveler, I was at Helgen when the dragon attacked, and escaped to Riverwood. The villagers there wanted me to come here and inform the Jarl of the dragon threat, because it flew up into the mountains near Riverwood. Once I finish this business for the Jarl, I’m pretty sure I’m going to join the Companions like I’ve always wanted to.”

“An honorable Nord, as always, what was Helgen like?” she asked, interested. Oliver told her of how big the dragon was, and how it was as black as night. He purposefully left out the part that he was a prisoner; it wouldn’t be good for his reputation. Carlotta was interested deeply, and so were the other patrons. Everyone grew silent when they heard the warrior recounting Helgen, and listened with eager ears. When Oliver was finished, all of them sat there, looks of amazement, shock, fear, and disbelief covered their faces. 

“And the city is completely destroyed?” asked a woman in the back that was wearing steel plated armor.

“Completely, there’s nothing left; the dragon burned it all down,” Oliver assured.

“Wow,” she said.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I haven’t eaten anything all day, and haven’t slept in three, so I’d like a meal and a room,” Oliver turned and told Hulda. He sat a coinpurse on the counter.

“On the house for the man who made it out of Helgen and lived to tell the tale, and for who possibly saved Riverwood!” she said, pushing the coinpurse back towards Oliver. The crowd cheered in agreement. 

“A bottle of some of that good Black-Briar Reserve, on me!” said the woman in steel armor. She sat some coins on the counter, and Oliver didn’t even have time to protest before she sat down and Hulda sat the blue bottle in front of him, along with a plate of food, and the key to his room. 

The night was spent where Oliver didn’t have to spend anything. People kept on buying him drinks until the late hours of the night and until Oliver could drink no more, mostly because he was drunk off his ass, and if he took one more sip of mead, he felt like he would empty the contents of his stomach all over the woman hanging off him. They reluctantly let him go and he stomped up to his room, taking off his clothes on the way, and falling into bed and into a land of dreamless sleep before his head even hit the pillow.  
Life was good.

~~~

Hi! Some of you might reconize my penname from fanfiction.net. I'm on there and decided to post my story on here, too. Updates will be coming every couple of days, so you won't have to wait around very long. Anyway, I can't wait to see what this site thinks of my work!

-Rayne :)


	2. Chapter 2

Life was bad.

When Oliver woke up the next morning, he had a splitting headache, and the hangover cure Hulda gave him hardly helped. He walked to Riverwood in silence and encountered a few wolves on the way. Once he reached the town, Lucan, the owner of their general store, was in the middle of an argument with his sister, Camila. 

“No, you are not going up to that barrow! And that’s final!” Lucan bellowed at his sister.

“C’mon, Lucan! I want more adventure in my life! I’m just going to get the claw back!”

“No!” Lucan countered.

“Am I interrupting something . . .?” Oliver asked hesitantly.

“Oh! I didn’t realize we had a customer. Sorry you had to see that . . .” Lucan murmured, “We had a break in the other day. Some bandits stole an ornament. It was solid gold, in the shape of a dragon’s claw. Camila wants to go get it back.”

“He looks tough. Why can I not go with him to get the claw?” Camila asked.

“Because you’re my sister and I’m not going to let anything happen to you. And he hasn’t agreed to it, and I’m not going to burden him with our problems.” Lucan said.

“Where did the bandits take the claw?” Oliver asked.

“We believe they took it to Bleak Falls Barrow, a Nordic tomb in the mountains west of here.” Lucan answered.

“I can get the claw for you.” Oliver said.

“Really? Thank you! I assure you, you will get a reward for your services.” Lucan exclaimed.

“Can I show him the path?” Camila asked from the other side of the room.

“Sure, but don’t leave the town.” Lucan answered sternly.

“All right. C’mon . . . What’s your name?” Camila asked.

“Oliver.”

“C’mon, Oliver!” Camila said and led Oliver out the door.

Together, Camila and Oliver walked to the other side to town, passing by the inn on their way, and stopped before a bridge.

“Just go across the bridge and take a left. Follow the path. It should lead you right to the Barrow.” Camila said.

“Thanks. I’ll be back soon.” Oliver said with a smile. Camila began to walk back to Riverwood as he started walking the path to the tomb. 

Oliver got to the barrow during a party. All the bandits were inside the first room of the tomb, and were all drunk, celebrating their last heist. Oliver sat and watched the group of people for hours until most of them had passed out, or had run off to somewhere more private. Oliver took this opportunity to slaughter all the bandits and make off with their gold and potions. He walked the halls, finding some skeevers, gold, soul gems, potions, and other valuable items he could sell back in Whiterun. Once he was deep in the tomb, he started seeing more unusual creatures: draugr. They seemed like they were in the middle of rotting, but were still alive at the same time. They had scraps of clothing, rusted   
weapons, and glowing blue eyes that Oliver found disconcerting. He was sure he would have nightmares about these creatures for a few days.

He continued through the tunnels, fighting off more draugr and solving puzzles, coming across a giant frostbite spider, and the bandit that had Camila and Lucan’s claw on him. He continued through the tomb until he came to a door that had a small circle in the middle, surrounded by three rings that had symbols on them. The small circle in the middle looked like the golden claw would fit in it, and when he examined the claw more closely, he saw symbols on the palm. He took a guess and moved the rings on the door to match the claw. He put the claw in the keyhole and turned it, causing the door to slide down. He felt pleased with himself for figuring out the puzzle his ancestors had made.

The main chamber was humid and crumbling, and it had a small stream running through it. In the middle, there was a strange wall, a coffin, and a chest. When he neared the wall, he heard a chanting fill his head. Completely forgetting what he was there for, the walked toward the wall. It was curved into the shape of a half-circle. The part of the wall that reached Oliver’s head had strange carvings on it, and one was slightly glowing. As Oliver looked up, he saw a carving of a dragon sitting atop the wall.

The chanting grew louder. Once he was right in front of the wall, it filled his head completely. Oliver fell to his knees in front of the strange carvings, dropping his greatsword to the floor as one single word filled his head completely: fus. It meant force, but how Oliver knew it meant that, he did not know.

He was pulled out of his daze when he heard the coffin behind him open and the lid crash to the floor. Oliver’s head snapped around to the draugr that was running toward him. He picked up his greatsword and swung at the draugr, cutting its stomach open. It screamed in pain and kneeled on the floor. Oliver took the creature’s moment of weakness to drive his blade into its head, killing it instantly. 

Oliver walked over to the coffin and took the stone from the inside; he also took the contents of the chest beside it, filling his pack and an extra bag to the brim. He knew he could make some money off what he got out of the barrow. He went out through a side tunnel and found his way outside, southwest of Riverwood. He started to walk to the town in the middle of the night, hoping that he wouldn’t encounter any hostile animals. 

~~~

Oliver spent the night in Riverwood and sold some of his things in the small town the next morning. He returned the claw to the store and was rewarded some free supplies: healing potions, bandages, traveling tack, and three stamina potions. He left a few pounds lighter and five hundred septims richer, and he arrived in Whiterun to tell the jarl in about two hours. The city was busy and crowded as usual. People’s heads turned in Oliver’s direction when he walked through the market, and whispers of the man who survived   
Helgen were everywhere. Oliver ignored them and made his way to Dragonsreach.

When he went into Farengar’s study, he was already occupied with a woman wearing leather armor and a hood, and Oliver couldn’t see her face.

“---Clearly from the first era or even earlier. I think it’s what you’re looking for,” Farengar was saying when Oliver walked in. 

“Thank you, Farengar. This will be helpful. Looks like someone else is here to see you.” The woman said and gestured to Oliver.

“Oh, you have returned from Bleak Falls Barrow!” Farengar exclaimed. “-It seems you didn’t die . . . do you have the Dragonstone?”

“I do.” Oliver handed the stone to Farengar. 

“You got the Dragonstone from Bleak Falls Barrow?” said the hooded woman. “Impressive.”

“Thank you,” said the court mage. “You should speak to the jarl for a reward; you earned it.”

“No problem,” Oliver said and turned to walk out the door. 

“Send me a copy of that once you’ve deciphered it,” mumbled the woman to Farengar as Oliver walked out. 

Oliver walked over to the jarl’s throne.

“Ah, you helped Farengar with his problem, and for that, I thank you. Take this.” Balgruuf handed Oliver an enchanted iron helmet that looked like it could bring in a good amount of money. 

“Thank you,” said Oliver. He nodded his goodbye and walked from the palace. He knew what he wanted to do now. Oliver walked down to the Gildergreen and took a left to Jorrvaskr. When he entered, he saw a Dumner man and a Nord woman fighting, while their fellow Companions shouted praises and cheered them on. Oliver sat and watched until the Dumner fell from the woman’s punches. After a few praises, everyone went back to their business. 

“Hey, you, I recognize you!” a woman said and ran up to Oliver. He turned to see an Imperial woman wearing fur armor smiling at him. 

“You were there when I helped kill the giant,” Oliver remarked.

“Yeah, are you here to join?” 

Oliver nodded.

“Follow me!” She led him down some stairs and down a hall, where she pointed to an older man sitting at a table. “That’s Kodlak, he’s the Harbinger. He decides who joins us. She turned her gaze to a brown-haired man sitting beside him. “And that’s Vilkas, he’s the Master of Arms. My name’s Ria.”

Oliver got a scowl from the man named Vilkas and a smile from the Harbinger. 

“Are you here to join?” asked Kodlak.

“I am,” Oliver said. He couldn’t help but to think he had seen the Harbinger somewhere before. He looked familiar. 

“Hm, yes, perhaps, a certain strength of spirit.” Kodlak said, looking Oliver over.

“Master, you surely aren’t considering accepting him?” Vilkas asked.

“I am nobody’s master, Vilkas. And last I checked, we had some empty beds in Jorrvaskr for those with a fire burning in their hearts.”

“Apologies. But perhaps this isn’t the time. I’ve never even heard of this outsider!” 

“Come on, Vilkas!” Ria pleaded. “He helped me, Farkas, and Aela take down a giant the other day! He’s really skilled with the greatsword!” 

Vilkas only scoffed at her.

“Sometimes the famous come to us, sometimes men and women come to seek their fame. It makes no difference,” Kodlak told Vilkas. “What matters is their heart,”

“And their arm,” Vilkas added. 

“Of course, how are you in battle?” Kodlak asked Oliver.

“I have much to learn,” Oliver said, “but I can handle myself.”

“That may be so. Vilkas, take him out to the yard and see what he can do.” 

“Aye,” Vilkas sighed. Ria walked back up to the main hall before Vilkas stood up, eager to get out of his way. Vilkas ran ahead, and Oliver could barely keep up. Once they were out in the training area, Vilkas unsheathed his sword and grabbed a shield off a table nearby. “The old man said to have a look at you, so let’s do this. Just have a few swings at me; don’t worry, I can take it.”

Oliver proceeded to unsheathe his greatsword and swing it at Vilkas’s shield, staggering him. Vilkas took a swing at Oliver, but he blocked it with minor difficulty. 

Vilkas stopped and handed his sword to Oliver. “You did good, new blood, but for now, you’re still a whelp to us. Go take my sword up to Eorlund to have it sharpened. Be careful; it’s probably worth more than you are.” 

It took everything Oliver had in him to not smack Vilkas right then with all the strength in him. He sighed and walked up the steps to the Skyforge, where the Companions’ blacksmith worked. 

“What brings you here?” he asked when Oliver approached.

“Vilkas sent me with his sword.”

“I’m guessing you’re the newcomer, then?” 

“Does Vilkas always send newcomers on errands?”

“Don’t worry about it. They were all whelps once; they just don’t like to talk about it. And don’t always do what you’re asked; no one rules anybody in the Companions.”

“Someone has to be in charge, though.”

“Well, I’m not sure how they managed it, but no leaders since Ysgramor. Kodlak is the Harbinger, kind of like an advisor, but every man is his own, and every woman, her own.”

Oliver turned to leave.

“Wait, before you go, I have a favor to ask,”

“What is it?”

“I’ve been working on a shield for Aela. My wife is in mourning and I need to get back to her. I’d be much obliged if you could take this to Aela for me.”

“No problem.”

“Thank you.” 

Oliver took the shield and went back to Jorrvaskr, where he found Ria and pulled her aside. “Ria, who’s Aela?” 

“The woman with fiery red hair and an even hotter temper; she should be down in her room. Down the hall, take a left, then another left.”

“Thanks.” Oliver walked down to the living quarters and took the directions Ria gave him. He found Aela in her room with a man with white hair and one eye. He noticed that he, Kodlak, and Vilkas all had matching armor with wolves engraved into them. They must have been the highest-ranking Companions.

“I have your shield,” he told Aela.

“Ah good, I’ve been waiting for this. It’s good to see you up here,” she said.

“Wait, you know this one?” said the one-eyed man. “I saw him training in the yard with Vilkas.”

“Ah, yes, I heard you gave him quite the thrashing.”

“Don’t let Vilkas catch you saying that,” added the one-eyed man.

“Do you think you could handle Vilkas in a real fight?”

“I don’t care for boasting,” Oliver said.

“Ah, a man who lets his actions speak for him. I knew there was something I liked about you. Wait, I know you. You were there when we killed that giant. So you made it and joined like you said you wanted to, good. Let’s have Farkas show you where you’ll be resting your head.”

“Farkas!” called the one eyed man. 

A man wearing steel armor that looked oddly like Vilkas ran in. Oliver recognized him as the man who was there when he helped kill the giant. “Did you call me?”

“Of course we did, ice brain. Show this new blood where the whelps sleep,”

“New blood? Oh, I remember you. Come on,” Farkas said to Oliver. “Skjor and Aela like to tease me, but they’re good people.”

“Is Vilkas your brother? You look really similar,” Oliver asked.

“We’re twins,” Farkas said. 

“Oh, I thought so,”

“It’s nice to have a new face around. It gets boring here sometimes. I hope we keep you; this can be a rough life. The quarters are up here; just pick a bed and fall in it when you’re tired. Tilma will keep the place clean; she always has. All right, so here you are. Looks like the others are eager to meet you. Come to me or Aela if you’re looking for work. Once you’ve made a bit of a name for yourself, Skjor or Vilkas might have things for you to do. Good luck, welcome to the Companions.”

“I’ll go ahead and take a job right now. I’m not doing anything else,”

“Someone in Riften needs some muscle. I don’t know what the fight is about, and it doesn’t matter. I just need you to go out there, look tough, and scare this milk drinker into submission. I don’t want to hear about a killing, understand?”

“Got it. You think I could get some better armor?” Oliver asked. “I don’t like light armor and this is just about too small for me anyway.”

“Yeah, look around in that closet over there” —Farkas pointed to a door across the hall—“and get you a set of armor. Do a bit more for us and we’ll set you up with a Skyforge steel weapon.”

“Thanks.” Oliver rummaged in the closet for a little while, trying on various pieces of steel armor until he found a set that fit. He threw the beat-up Stormcloak armor away, thinking he could get no money for it. 

He walked out of Whiterun and hired a carriage for Riften immediately, and slept most of the way there.

~~~

Oliver easily intimidated the man in Riften. He didn’t even have to punch him. He was about to leave the city that smelled of fish and rotting wood when an Argonian woman ran up to him. 

“Please, you have to help me!” she pleaded.

“What’s wrong?” Oliver asked, knowing that being a Companion meant helping people. 

“I might lose my job at the fishery! My boss said if I showed up to work like this one more time, he’ll throw me out! I just need a small healing potion!” Oliver obliged, and she took the healing potion and drank it in one gulp.

“What’s wrong that you’re boss doesn’t like?” Oliver asked.

“Skooma. I tried some two years ago, and ever since then I can’t stop. I needed the potion to rid it out of my body, and for you giving it to me, I am grateful. Never again will I touch the horrid liquid!”

“Where do you get your skooma from?” Oliver knew too well the effects of skooma. His father had died from an overdose, and that was when his mother moved to Cyrodiil to marry a nobleman. Oliver wanted to find the source of the liquid and get rid of it.

“I don’t know if I should tell you. I mean, he could kill me.”

“I think you owe me,”

“Okay, fine. I get my skooma from Sarthis outside the Riften Warehouse. He’s always outside with his bodyguard. Ever since the war started, they’ve locked that place up. I don’t know how he gets in. The jarl is the only person that has the key.”

“Thank you. I’ll take care of Sarthis.” Oliver turned from the gates, walked to the keep, and entered. The inside was warm and dry, unlike the rest of the city, which was cold and damp. Oliver walked forward to the jarl, who was sitting on her throne. 

“May I help you?” she asked.

“I have learned of a skooma dealer in Riften.”

“Oh yes, I know all too well of Sarthis. He seems to have connections with the guards, because every time we try to arrest him, he’s not there, or he slips away.”

“I could take care of him.” 

“Are you sure? He could be dangerous.”

“I’m sure.”

“Thank you. You will be doing Riften a service.” She handed him the key to the warehouse. 

Oliver went back outside and to the docks, and toward the warehouse. He unlocked the door and pulled out his greatsword. As soon as he entered, he was attacked by an orc, but Oliver cut him down easily. He heard footsteps coming up some stairs behind him, and turned and swung his sword just in time to cut through the man’s stomach. He cried out in pain and fell to the ground, and then Oliver finished him off. He found a key on Sarthis’s body and headed down the stairs. 

When he reached the basement, the sweet stench of skooma filled his nose. He was all too familiar with it, having known the smell from his father hiding his skooma in Oliver’s bedroom. He used the key he had found on Sarthis’s body to unlock a door. Inside he found five bowls of moon sugar and seven bottles of skooma. He pocketed the items. He didn’t want anyone else to get their hands on the drug and become addicted to it. Oliver also found a note, saying that the skooma was coming from a place called Cragslane Cavern. 

Oliver took the note and exited the warehouse. He walked through the cold streets of Riften and entered the keep. “Done,” he told the jarl. “The skooma is coming from Cragslane Cavern.”

“You killed Sarthis? Thank you. Here, take this. You earned it.” She handed Oliver a fat coin purse. “Let me see your map and I’ll mark where the cavern is at on it.”  
Jarl Laila marked the cavern on Oliver’s map and bid him goodbye when he walked out. 

~~~

Cragslane Cavern was a two hour walk to the north of Riften. Outside, Oliver found a bandit and two wolves in cages. He killed the bandit and the wolves, then entered the cave. Wolves in cages? Some people can be so weird, he thought when he entered. He stabbed a bandit in the chest when he got a little ways in the cave, but thankfully, he didn’t alert the rest of the people inside. 

He heard shouting, cheering, and people placing bets.

“Ten septims on the girl!” said one voice. 

“No, no, no, I think she’ll get beat tonight!” said another. 

Oliver was extremely confused. 

“Oh there’s the jewel of our fighters!” said another.

“No! Please let me go!” screamed a woman’s hoarse voice, which was barely audible through all the cheering.  
Oliver walked further and the sight he saw enraged him. A girl was being forced to fight a wolf, armed with only a dagger. She was wearing a tavern wenche’s clothes and she was obviously weak. Her ribs were sticking out, and she was very malnourished by the looks of her. Her face was sunken, and she looked more like a skeleton with skin than a person. She had long, dirty, tangled blonde hair that was loosely held back by a leather strip. She could have been pretty if she hadn’t been treated so badly.

Oliver was frozen to the spot. The men around the girl cheered her on as she fought for her life. They seemed to think she looked good, and they were getting pleasure out of watching the girl fight. Some of them were saying things like “I can’t wait to make you mine tonight!” or “I bet she’d look good on my lap!”

Perverts. Oliver thought. 

“Ahhg!” screamed the girl. The wolf had bitten her arm. 

“All right, all right, the wolf won! Show’s over,” said a bandit to the gamblers as he grabbed the crying woman roughly and escorted her through a tunnel to the back of the cave.

“I want the first go with her!” said one man to a bandit behind a counter and slapped down some coins. 

“She’s all yours once our leader fixes her arm,” he said. 

Oliver wouldn’t stand for this any longer. No matter who that woman was, she didn’t deserve being passed from man to man to be their toy, and fighting wolves for their amusement. No one deserved that. 

Oliver charged full force toward the men, swinging his sword like a madman and killing left and right. Once everyone in that room was dead, he walked through a tunnel leading back to the leader’s room. The bandit in heavy steel armor didn’t notice Oliver walk in. He was busy.

“You’re gonna make me a lot of money tonight,” the man crooned to the woman. “You already did. I knew we did well all those years ago taking you. You’ve made us richer than the Jarl of Riften!” 

She was in a cage and looked as if she was treated the same way the wolves were. She was sitting and was forced to sleep in her own filth, and she looked as if she hadn’t taken a bath in years. She looked broken beyond repair, not physically but emotionally. Physical wounds could always heal; emotional wounds that were caused by things like this never heal.

“And I did well by doing this!” Oliver said before he stabbed the man in the neck from behind. A cry gurgled from the man’s lips before he fell over dead. The woman in the cage stared at the dead man in disbelief, a smile slowly creeping onto her face. Her eyes started to drift up to the killer of her tormenter, and her smile started to disappear. Happiness was replaced with fear when she saw the giant Nord man looking down at her. She didn’t know him, and he evidently scared her. He was sure lots of things scared her these days.

“Are you okay?” asked Oliver. A stupid question, really. Oliver knew she was not okay, but that was all he knew to say. 

“I-I’ve been better. Are you going to take me away from this place?” she asked.

“I am. I’m taking you to Riften. You need a healer.” Oliver sheathed his sword. He grabbed a key from the dead man’s pack and unlocked the door to her cage. She walked out and stretched her arms.

“Why are you here?” she asked with a small voice.

“It doesn’t matter right now. Drink this.” Oliver handed the woman a healing potion. When he looked at her more closely, he could see many cuts, some infected, bruises, scars, and dry blood. She took the vial and drank the liquid. 

“More, please,” she said and held her hand out to Oliver. He handed her another potion and watched as her bruises went away a little and her cuts healed. She was still weak and still had some wounds, but she was a lot stronger. 

“Drink this too.” Oliver handed her a stamina potion, which she drank quickly. “Here, eat this, too.” Oliver handed her his bag of food. He knew she could not eat it all, most likely having a small stomach from the tiny portions the bandits probably gave her. 

She tore into the bag and started eating. 

Oliver handed her his waterskin and told her to sit down on one of the bedrolls on the other side of the room. She did so without stopping her chewing. Oliver knew she must have been very hungry. 

While she was eating, Oliver walked over to a table and shelves containing skooma and moon sugar. Oliver took them as well. He would make sure to burn all of it tonight. He took everything he could and filled his pack with valuables he could sell. 

He turned to look at the girl. She had stopped eating and had drunk all the water from his waterskin. He didn’t mind; she needed it more than he did. Oliver walked over to her and sat down across from her. 

“What’s your name?” he asked her.

“Lilliana, but most people call me Lilly, although these people liked to call me ‘woman’ more than anything,”

“That’s a pretty name. I like it. I’m Oliver.”

“Will you tell me why you’re here now?”

“Yeah, sure. I was in Riften on a job for the Companions, and I found out there was a skooma dealer there. I killed the skooma dealer and found out he was getting his skooma   
from here, so I came here and planned to disrupt their operation. I think I interrupted more than I was hoping for, but I saved someone who needed to be saved, so I did well.”

“You’re a Companion?”

“I am.”

“Wow. You look young to be a Companion.”

“I’m twenty!”

“You look like you’re sixteen.”

“How old are you?”

“I’m not exactly sure. I was captured and taken here when I was fifteen, and I’ve been here a long time. I’ll guess I’m around eighteen.” 

“You’ve been here for three years?”

“Yes. I don’t know how I survived, but I did.”

“I guess you’re tougher than you look.” Oliver said and stood up. He walked over to a chest and tried to open it, but it was locked. “Ah, dammit,” he cursed.

“I can unlock it for you,” Lilly said and picked up a few lockpicks from the bandit leader’s table. Oliver moved out of her way so she could bend down in front of the chest. Her skills were rusty, but she picked the lock with breaking only one pick. Oliver was impressed. 

“Where did you learn that?” he asked.

“I grew up in Riften, home of the Thieves Guild. A man who ran a market stall there taught me how to be a master thief. I was picking pockets and locks by the time I was ten, although my mother didn’t like my skills, but I knew they would come in handy one day.”

“Wow,” Oliver said and looked through the chest. There were many enchanted items there, and he took them all. 

“And you thought I was just a pretty face!” Lilly chuckled.

“Well it’s nice to see that even though you just got rescued from bandits, you have a sense of humor,” Oliver said with a laugh of his own. He liked this girl already. 

~~~

Oliver seemed to be wrong about Lilliana. Maybe she’s not as broken as I thought. She seems to get her spirit back quickly. Oliver thought as the two walked back to Riften. Lilliana would not stop asking questions. She seemed to be very interested in the Companions, but Oliver couldn’t tell her much.

“Why do the Companions have wolves engraved in their weapons and armor?” she asked.

“I’m not sure; it’s their symbol, I guess,” Oliver replied.

“Hm . . . I like it.”

“Haven’t you been fighting wolves for the past three years of your life?”

“I fought the same wolves for those three years. I became acquainted with them. Don’t ask me how, but those bandits somehow got them to turn on me and make them fight me every other night. I’ve even slept in the same cage as some of those wolves.”

“How can you talk about that like it’s nothing?”

“Trust me, it’s not easy. I was just taught to be strong as a girl.”

“You’re a lot stronger than some of the ‘strongest’ warriors I’ve seen then, at least emotionally.”

“I’ll be strong again soon, and I’m no warrior; I’m more of a stealth archer.”

“Isn’t that more of a Bosmer thing?”

“I am a Nord, but I can’t even pick up that greatsword of yours. I do better at a distance, with my light feet backing me up. It’s fun to take someone by surprise, shoot them, and watch his friends run around to try to find out where the arrow came from.”

She’s strong, but seems kind of dark. No matter. I still like her spirit, Oliver thought. “You can’t pick up my sword now, but I’d bet you’ll be able to in a couple weeks.”

“You talk as if I’m going to become a Companion.”

“You talk as if you want to.”

“I’d be a better thief, but yes, I’d love to be a Companion.”

“Don’t worry; I think you’ll fit right in,” Oliver assured her as they walked in the gates to Riften. Lilliana immediately got strange looks from some residents of the fishing city.

“I knew they’d look at me funny,” Lilliana said, looking at the people looking at her.

“Don’t give them any mind. You’ll look back to normal once you start eating properly.”

“I hope so.”

When Oliver and Lilliana walked in, the Dunmer priestess ran up to the weak girl. “By Mara, are you alright?” she asked frantically, looking at the cuts and bruises that dotted her body, which was still loosely covered by the small pieces of clothing the bandits made her wear. 

“She needs a healer,” Oliver explained to the priestess. “I found her in a bandit den, and they were forcing her to fight wolves and used her for their, uh, personal enjoyment. She’s been there for . . . a while . . . and hasn’t been eating properly.” 

She nodded and led Lilliana to a back room that had a bed, table, and chair.

“Sit!” she ordered Lilliana. 

Lilliana sat down on the mattress with no argument. “Take that off and I’ll get you some real clothes.” The priestess gestured to what Lilliana was wearing. 

Lilliana reached up to take off her top, but eyed Oliver and stopped. 

“I’ll leave,” he said.

“You can come back once I’m wearing actual clothes,” Lilliana said as he walked out the door. 

He closed it behind him and heard the muffled sounds of undressing and dressing again, with a few grunts from Lilliana, indicating that she was in pain from the infected cuts and bruises. 

“All right, you can come back in now,” The priestess, who said her name was Dinya, said as she poked her head out the door. Oliver walked in and saw Lilliana sitting on the bed drinking a healing potion and wearing a blue dress with a brown vest. It hung loosely on her body, but Oliver could tell she would fill out a bit in time. Dinya walked over to Lilliana and took the now empty bottle from her hands. She grabbed a blue bottle, uncorked it, and set it on the table by the bed, and sat down across from Lilliana. 

“What are you doing?” Lilliana asked as the priest rolled up her sleeves. 

“I’m going to cast some healing spells on you. They should drain some of your energy and make you sleepy, but you need the rest,” Dinya said. “Can you roll up your sleeves too?”

“Sure.” Lilliana rolled up her sleeves as far as they could go and held her arm out to Dinya’s glowing hands. When the Dumner woman put her hand on Lilliana’s arm, the girl moaned. “I like this feeling,” she said. 

Dinya just chuckled and kept on moving her hand across the cuts and. She proceeded to do the same to her legs, back, stomach, and anywhere else that had a wound until her   
magicka and Lilliana’s energy were drained. 

Lilliana sighed and leaned back on the pillow behind her. “Will you come back for me and take me to Jorrvaskr?” she asked drowsily.

“Of course,” Oliver replied.

“Thank you for saving me. I’m sorry I won’t ever be able to repay you.”

“You don’t need to. It’s the Companions’ job to save people. I couldn’t just leave you there.”

“True. When I become a Companion, I’m gonna save lots of people,” she mumbled, half asleep.

“I’m sure you will. Get some rest, Lilly. After all you’ve been through, this is exactly what you need.” Oliver gave the worn-out girl’s hand a quick squeeze and left her to sleep.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can to check on her,” he told Dinya, who had followed him out of the room after covering Lilliana up with some furs. “Gotta admit, I’ve taken a liking to her.” 

“Yes, she’s a very sweet girl, or should I say, woman, despite what’s happened to her. Becoming a Companion will be a hard goal for her, but I think she’ll be able to do it.” 

“She’ll make a good Companion once she’s stronger,” as he turned to leave. “I’ll be back for her in a couple weeks. I’m sure with that determination of hers, she’ll be fit to be a warrior in no time.”

“She does have spirit. I can tell.”

~~~

Lilliana slept for almost a whole day before she woke up. When she did, she wished Oliver was there.

“Good, you’re awake,” the Dumner priest said from the doorway.

Lilliana looked up and smiled at Dinya. “The man who brought me here, Oliver, he’s coming back, right?”

“He said he would in a couple weeks and he thought you’d make a fine Companion,” Dinya answered with a smile. 

“All right!” Lilliana cheered, “Can I have something to eat?”

“Sure. Come to the kitchen with me.” Dinya held the door open for Lilliana, who walked across the temple to the other side.

“What’s going on?” Lilliana gestured to Maramal, who was cleaning the temple.

“There’s a wedding tomorrow. Maramal is cleaning up for it.” Dinya answered. 

“Who’s getting married?”

“Keerava and Talen-Jei, the two Argonians that run the Bee and the Barb.”

“Oh, I remember them! It’s nice that they’re getting married; I always suspected it.”

“You used to live in Riften?”

“I did, with my mother. We lived in the house right by the gates. Those bandits that got me attacked Riften . . . a-and, they killed my mother and took me as their toy,” Lilliana said   
shakily, unshed tears threatening to spill out of her eyes.

“I remember that day. So you’re Emma’s daughter . . . a shame what happed . . .” Dinya mumbled, looking down.

Lilliana decided to drop the topic. “Can I come to the wedding?”

Dinya perked back up. “Of course! All are welcome.”

“That’s nice,” Lilliana said, looking at the shrine to Mara on the table beside them. She followed Dinya to the kitchen and almost fainted at the sight of the food-lined shelves.

“Take what you want,” Dinya said. “I’m going to go help Maramal now.” 

As Dinya walked out of the room, Lilliana took a plate and piled it high with all sorts of food: baked potatoes, grilled chicken, sweetrolls, and bread. She also grabbed a tankard of water and walked back to her room.

“Real food is so good,” Lilliana mumbled over a mouthful of chicken and bread.

~~~

Oliver couldn’t help but think of Lilliana as he walked back to Whiterun. Once she joins, I’ll bet she’s eager. I bet she’ll want to work alone, too; most stealthy fighters do . . . I’ll have to convince her to take a shield-sibling with her until she becomes stronger.

He was ripped out of his thoughts when a blood-freezing roar echoed around him. Oliver looked up to see a dragon circling the western watchtower, and guards scurrying about trying to defeat it. The tower was crumbling and was on fire. Guards were on the ground, dead, around it. 

All Oliver knew to do was to help. He pulled out his greatsword and ran toward the scene. Archers were firing arrows at the oversized lizard, tearing its wings until it was forced to land. They dropped their bows and drew their weapons, charging at the dragon. Oliver hacked at the beast, cutting through the scales with difficulty, and making blood pour from the cuts on the dragon’s neck and back. Many fell from the dragon’s fire breath, and Oliver got a good burn to his shoulder as well.

When the dragon finally fell, it was deadly silent, until the dragon’s corpse began to burn, and a blinding light rushed toward Oliver.

The guards rushed up to him, and when his vision cleared, Oliver looked up to see shocked faces.

“By the Gods, you’re . . . Dragonborn!”

~~~

That was an extremely long chapter, I know, but there was LOTS of info in there. Now we have Lilliana, a MAJOR character in this story. You’ll see her again soon, I promise. Hope you guys are liking this story and are having as much fun reading it as I am writing it!

-Rayne :)


	3. Chapter 3

Life was bad.

When Oliver woke up the next morning, he had a splitting headache, and the hangover cure Hulda gave him hardly helped. He walked to Riverwood in silence and encountered a few wolves on the way. Once he reached the town, Lucan, the owner of their general store, was in the middle of an argument with his sister, Camila. 

“No, you are not going up to that barrow! And that’s final!” Lucan bellowed at his sister.

“C’mon, Lucan! I want more adventure in my life! I’m just going to get the claw back!”

“No!” Lucan countered.

“Am I interrupting something . . .?” Oliver asked hesitantly.

“Oh! I didn’t realize we had a customer. Sorry you had to see that . . .” Lucan murmured, “We had a break in the other day. Some bandits stole an ornament. It was solid gold, in the   
shape of a dragon’s claw. Camila wants to go get it back.”

“He looks tough. Why can I not go with him to get the claw?” Camila asked.

“Because you’re my sister and I’m not going to let anything happen to you. And he hasn’t agreed to it, and I’m not going to burden him with our problems.” Lucan said.

“Where did the bandits take the claw?” Oliver asked.

“We believe they took it to Bleak Falls Barrow, a Nordic tomb in the mountains west of here.” Lucan answered.

“I can get the claw for you.” Oliver said.

“Really? Thank you! I assure you, you will get a reward for your services.” Lucan exclaimed.

“Can I show him the path?” Camila asked from the other side of the room.

“Sure, but don’t leave the town.” Lucan answered sternly.

“Alright. C’mon . . . What’s your name?” Camila asked.

“Oliver.”

“C’mon, Oliver!” Camila said and led Oliver out the door.

Together, Camila and Oliver walked to the other side to town, passing by the inn on their way, and stopped before a bridge.

“Just go across the bridge and take a left. Follow the path. It should lead you right to the Barrow.” Camila said.

“Thanks. I’ll be back soon.” Oliver said with a smile. Camila began to walk back to Riverwood as he started walking the path to the tomb. 

Oliver got to the barrow during a party. All the bandits were inside the first room of the tomb, and were all drunk, celebrating their last heist. Oliver sat and watched the group of   
people for hours until most of them had passed out, or had run off to somewhere more private. Oliver took this opportunity to slaughter all the bandits and make off with their   
gold and potions. He walked the halls, finding some skeevers, gold, soul gems, potions, and other valuable items he could sell back in Whiterun. Once he was deep in the tomb, he   
started seeing more unusual creatures: draugr. They seemed like they were in the middle of rotting, but were still alive at the same time. They had scraps of clothing, rusted   
weapons, and glowing blue eyes that Oliver found disconcerting. He was sure he would have nightmares about these creatures for a few days.

He continued through the tunnels, fighting off more draugr and solving puzzles, coming across a giant frostbite spider, and the bandit that had Camila and Lucan’s claw on him.   
He continued through the tomb until he came to a door that had a small circle in the middle, surrounded by three rings that had symbols on them. The small circle in the middle   
looked like the golden claw would fit in it, and when he examined the claw more closely, he saw symbols on the palm. He took a guess and moved the rings on the door to match   
the claw. He put the claw in the keyhole and turned it, causing the door to slide down. He felt pleased with himself for figuring out the puzzle his ancestors had made.

The main chamber was humid and crumbling, and it had a small stream running through it. In the middle, there was a strange wall, a coffin, and a chest. When he neared the wall,   
he heard a chanting fill his head. Completely forgetting what he was there for, the walked toward the wall. It was curved into the shape of a half-circle. The part of the wall that   
reached Oliver’s head had strange carvings on it, and one was slightly glowing. As Oliver looked up, he saw a carving of a dragon sitting atop the wall.

The chanting grew louder. Once he was right in front of the wall, it filled his head completely. Oliver fell to his knees in front of the strange carvings, dropping his greatsword to   
the floor as one single word filled his head completely: fus. It meant force, but how Oliver knew it meant that, he did not know.

He was pulled out of his daze when he heard the coffin behind him open and the lid crash to the floor. Oliver’s head snapped around to the draugr that was running toward him.   
He picked up his greatsword and swung at the draugr, cutting its stomach open. It screamed in pain and kneeled on the floor. Oliver took the creature’s moment of weakness to   
drive his blade into its head, killing it instantly. 

Oliver walked over to the coffin and took the stone from the inside; he also took the contents of the chest beside it, filling his pack and an extra bag to the brim. He knew he could   
make some money off what he got out of the barrow. He went out through a side tunnel and found his way outside, southwest of Riverwood. He started to walk to the town in the   
middle of the night, hoping that he wouldn’t encounter any hostile animals. 

~~~

Oliver spent the night in Riverwood and sold some of his things in the small town the next morning. He returned the claw to the store and was rewarded some free supplies:   
healing potions, bandages, traveling tack, and three stamina potions. He left a few pounds lighter and five hundred septims richer, and he arrived in Whiterun to tell the jarl in   
about two hours. The city was busy and crowded as usual. People’s heads turned in Oliver’s direction when he walked through the market, and whispers of the man who survived   
Helgen were everywhere. Oliver ignored them and made his way to Dragonsreach.

When he went into Farengar’s study, he was already occupied with a woman wearing leather armor and a hood, and Oliver couldn’t see her face.

“---Clearly from the first era or even earlier. I think it’s what you’re looking for,” Farengar was saying when Oliver walked in. 

“Thank you, Farengar. This will be helpful. Looks like someone else is here to see you.” The woman said and gestured to Oliver.

“Oh, you have returned from Bleak Falls Barrow!” Farengar exclaimed. “-It seems you didn’t die . . . do you have the Dragonstone?”

“I do.” Oliver handed the stone to Farengar. 

“You got the Dragonstone from Bleak Falls Barrow?” said the hooded woman. “Impressive.”

“Thank you,” said the court mage. “You should speak to the jarl for a reward; you earned it.”

“No problem,” Oliver said and turned to walk out the door. 

“Send me a copy of that once you’ve deciphered it,” mumbled the woman to Farengar as Oliver walked out. 

Oliver walked over to the jarl’s throne.

“Ah, you helped Farengar with his problem, and for that, I thank you. Take this.” Balgruuf handed Oliver an enchanted iron helmet that looked like it could bring in a good amount   
of money. 

“Thank you,” said Oliver. He nodded his goodbye and walked from the palace. He knew what he wanted to do now. Oliver walked down to the Gildergreen and took a left to   
Jorrvaskr. When he entered, he saw a Dumner man and a Nord woman fighting, while their fellow Companions shouted praises and cheered them on. Oliver sat and watched until   
the Dumner fell from the woman’s punches. After a few praises, everyone went back to their business. 

“Hey, you, I recognize you!” a woman said and ran up to Oliver. He turned to see an Imperial woman wearing fur armor smiling at him. 

“You were there when I helped kill the giant,” Oliver remarked.

“Yeah, are you here to join?” 

Oliver nodded.”

“Follow me!” She led him down some stairs and down a hall, where she pointed to an older man sitting at a table. “That’s Kodlak, he’s the Harbinger. He decides who joins us. She   
turned her gaze to a brown-haired man sitting beside him. “And that’s Vilkas, he’s the Master of Arms. My name’s Ria.”

Oliver got a scowl from the man named Vilkas and a smile from the Harbinger. 

“Are you here to join?” asked Kodlak.

“I am,” Oliver said. He couldn’t help but to think he had seen the Harbinger somewhere before. He looked familiar. 

“Hm, yes, perhaps, a certain strength of spirit.” Kodlak said, looking Oliver over.

“Master, you surely aren’t considering accepting him?” Vilkas asked.

“I am nobody’s master, Vilkas. And last I checked, we had some empty beds in Jorrvaskr for those with a fire burning in their hearts.”

“Apologies. But perhaps this isn’t the time. I’ve never even heard of this outsider!” 

“Come on, Vilkas!” Ria pleaded. “He helped me, Farkas, and Aela take down a giant the other day! He’s really skilled with the greatsword!” 

Vilkas only scoffed at her.

“Sometimes the famous come to us, sometimes men and women come to seek their fame. It makes no difference,” Kodlak told Vilkas. “What matters is their heart,”

“And their arm,” Vilkas added. 

“Of course, how are you in battle?” Kodlak asked Oliver.

“I have much to learn,” Oliver said, “but I can handle myself.”

“That may be so. Vilkas, take him out to the yard and see what he can do.” 

“Aye,” Vilkas sighed. Ria walked back up to the main hall before Vilkas stood up, eager to get out of his way. Vilkas ran ahead, and Oliver could barely keep up. Once they were out   
in the training area, Vilkas unsheathed his sword and grabbed a shield off a table nearby. “The old man said to have a look at you, so let’s do this. Just have a few swings at me;   
don’t worry, I can take it.”

Oliver proceeded to unsheathe his greatsword and swing it at Vilkas’s shield, staggering him. Vilkas took a swing at Oliver, but he blocked it with minor difficulty. 

Vilkas stopped and handed his sword to Oliver. “You did good, new blood, but for now, you’re still a whelp to us. Go take my sword up to Eorlund to have it sharpened. Be careful;   
it’s probably worth more than you are.” 

It took everything Oliver had in him to not smack Vilkas right then with all the strength in him. He sighed and walked up the steps to the Skyforge, where the Companions’   
blacksmith worked. 

“What brings you here?” he asked when Oliver approached.

“Vilkas sent me with his sword.”

“I’m guessing you’re the newcomer, then?” 

“Does Vilkas always send newcomers on errands?”

“Don’t worry about it. They were all whelps once; they just don’t like to talk about it. And don’t always do what you’re asked; no one rules anybody in the Companions.”

“Someone has to be in charge, though.”

“Well, I’m not sure how they managed it, but no leaders since Ysgramor. Kodlak is the Harbinger, kind of like an advisor, but every man is his own, and every woman, her own.”

Oliver turned to leave.

“Wait, before you go, I have a favor to ask,”

“What is it?”

“I’ve been working on a shield for Aela. My wife is in mourning and I need to get back to her. I’d be much obliged if you could take this to Aela for me.”

“No problem.”

“Thank you.” 

Oliver took the shield and went back to Jorrvaskr, where he found Ria and pulled her aside. “Ria, who’s Aela?” 

“The woman with fiery red hair and an even hotter temper; she should be down in her room. Down the hall, take a left, then another left.”

“Thanks.” Oliver walked down to the living quarters and took the directions Ria gave him. He found Aela in her room with a man with white hair and one eye. He noticed that he,   
Kodlak, and Vilkas all had matching armor with wolves engraved into them. They must have been the highest-ranking Companions.

“I have your shield,” he told Aela.

“Ah good, I’ve been waiting for this. It’s good to see you up here,” she said.

“Wait, you know this one?” said the one-eyed man. “I saw him training in the yard with Vilkas.”

“Ah, yes, I heard you gave him quite the thrashing.”

“Don’t let Vilkas catch you saying that,” added the one-eyed man.

“Do you think you could handle Vilkas in a real fight?”

“I don’t care for boasting,” Oliver said.

“Ah, a man who lets his actions speak for him. I knew there was something I liked about you. Wait, I know you. You were there when we killed that giant. So you made it and joined   
like you said you wanted to, good. Let’s have Farkas show you where you’ll be resting your head.”

“Farkas!” called the one eyed man. 

A man wearing steel armor that looked oddly like Vilkas ran in. Oliver recognized him as the man who was there when he helped kill the giant. “Did you call me?”

“Of course we did, ice brain. Show this new blood where the whelps sleep,”

“New blood? Oh, I remember you. Come on,” Farkas said to Oliver. “Skjor and Aela like to tease me, but they’re good people.”

“Is Vilkas your brother? You look really similar,” Oliver asked.

“We’re twins,” Farkas said. 

“Oh, I thought so,”

“It’s nice to have a new face around. It gets boring here sometimes. I hope we keep you; this can be a rough life. The quarters are up here; just pick a bed and fall in it when you’re   
tired. Tilma will keep the place clean; she always has. All right, so here you are. Looks like the others are eager to meet you. Come to me or Aela if you’re looking for work. Once   
you’ve made a bit of a name for yourself, Skjor or Vilkas might have things for you to do. Good luck, welcome to the Companions.”

“I’ll go ahead and take a job right now. I’m not doing anything else,”

“Someone in Riften needs some muscle. I don’t know what the fight is about, and it doesn’t matter. I just need you to go out there, look tough, and scare this milk drinker into   
submission. I don’t want to hear about a killing, understand?”

“Got it. You think I could get some better armor?” Oliver asked. “I don’t like light armor and this is just about too small for me anyway.”

“Yeah, look around in that closet over there” —Farkas pointed to a door across the hall—“and get you a set of armor. Do a bit more for us and we’ll set you up with a Skyforge steel   
weapon.”

“Thanks.” Oliver rummaged in the closet for a little while, trying on various pieces of steel armor until he found a set that fit. He threw the beat-up Stormcloak armor away,   
thinking he could get no money for it. 

He walked out of Whiterun and hired a carriage for Riften immediately, and slept most of the way there.

~~~

Oliver easily intimidated the man in Riften. He didn’t even have to punch him. He was about to leave the city that smelled of fish and rotting wood when an Argonian woman ran   
up to him. 

“Please, you have to help me!” she pleaded.

“What’s wrong?” Oliver asked, knowing that being a Companion meant helping people. 

“I might lose my job at the fishery! My boss said if I showed up to work like this one more time, he’ll throw me out! I just need a small healing potion!” Oliver obliged, and she took   
the healing potion and drank it in one gulp.

“What’s wrong that you’re boss doesn’t like?” Oliver asked.

“Skooma. I tried some two years ago, and ever since then I can’t stop. I needed the potion to rid it out of my body, and for you giving it to me, I am grateful. Never again will I touch   
the horrid liquid!”

“Where do you get your skooma from?” Oliver knew too well the effects of skooma. His father had died from an overdose, and that was when his mother moved to Cyrodiil to   
marry a nobleman. Oliver wanted to find the source of the liquid and get rid of it.

“I don’t know if I should tell you. I mean, he could kill me.”

“I think you owe me,”

“Okay, fine. I get my skooma from Sarthis outside the Riften Warehouse. He’s always outside with his bodyguard. Ever since the war started, they’ve locked that place up. I don’t   
know how he gets in. The jarl is the only person that has the key.”

“Thank you. I’ll take care of Sarthis.” Oliver turned from the gates, walked to the keep, and entered. The inside was warm and dry, unlike the rest of the city, which was cold and   
damp. Oliver walked forward to the jarl, who was sitting on her throne. 

“May I help you?” she asked.

“I have learned of a skooma dealer in Riften.”

“Oh yes, I know all too well of Sarthis. He seems to have connections with the guards, because every time we try to arrest him, he’s not there, or he slips away.”

“I could take care of him.” 

“Are you sure? He could be dangerous.”

“I’m sure.,”

“Thank you. You will be doing Riften a service.” She handed him the key to the warehouse. 

Oliver went back outside and to the docks, and toward the warehouse. He unlocked the door and pulled out his greatsword. As soon as he entered, he was attacked by an orc, but   
Oliver cut him down easily. He heard footsteps coming up some stairs behind him, and turned and swung his sword just in time to cut through the man’s stomach. He cried out in   
pain and fell to the ground, and then Oliver finished him off. He found a key on Sarthis’s body and headed down the stairs. 

When he reached the basement, the sweet stench of skooma filled his nose. He was all too familiar with it, having known the smell from his father hiding his skooma in Oliver’s   
bedroom. He used the key he had found on Sarthis’s body to unlock a door. Inside he found five bowls of moon sugar and seven bottles of skooma. He pocketed the items. He   
didn’t want anyone else to get their hands on the drug and become addicted to it. Oliver also found a note, saying that the skooma was coming from a place called Cragslane   
Cavern. 

Oliver took the note and exited the warehouse. He walked through the cold streets of Riften and entered the keep. “Done,” he told the jarl. “The skooma is coming from Cragslane   
Cavern.”

“You killed Sarthis? Thank you. Here, take this. You earned it.” She handed Oliver a fat coin purse. “Let me see your map and I’ll mark where the cavern is at on it.”

Jarl Laila marked the cavern on Oliver’s map and bid him goodbye when he walked out. 

~~~

Cragslane Cavern was a two hour walk to the north of Riften. Outside, Oliver found a bandit and two wolves in cages. He killed the bandit and the wolves, then entered the cave.   
Wolves in cages? Some people can be so weird, he thought when he entered. He stabbed a bandit in the chest when he got a little ways in the cave, but thankfully, he didn’t alert   
the rest of the people inside. 

He heard shouting, cheering, and people placing bets.

“Ten septims on the girl!” said one voice. 

“No, no, no, I think she’ll get beat tonight!” said another. 

Oliver was extremely confused. 

“Oh there’s the jewel of our fighters!” said another.

“No! Please let me go!” screamed a woman’s hoarse voice, which was barely audible through all the cheering.

Oliver walked further and the sight he saw enraged him. A girl was being forced to fight a wolf, armed with only a dagger. She was wearing a tavern wenche’s clothes and she was   
obviously weak. Her ribs were sticking out, and she was very malnourished by the looks of her. Her face was sunken, and she looked more like a skeleton with skin than a person.   
She had long, dirty, tangled blonde hair that was loosely held back by a leather strip. She could have been pretty if she hadn’t been treated so badly.

Oliver was frozen to the spot. The men around the girl cheered her on as she fought for her life. They seemed to think she looked good, and they were getting pleasure out of   
watching the girl fight. Some of them were saying things like “I can’t wait to make you mine tonight!” or “I bet she’d look good on my lap!”

Perverts. Oliver thought. 

“Ahhg!” screamed the girl. The wolf had bitten her arm. 

“All right, all right, the wolf won! Show’s over,” said a bandit to the gamblers as he grabbed the crying woman roughly and escorted her through a tunnel to the back of the cave.

“I want the first go with her!” said one man to a bandit behind a counter and slapped down some coins. 

“She’s all yours once our leader fixes her arm,” he said. 

Oliver wouldn’t stand for this any longer. No matter who that woman was, she didn’t deserve being passed from man to man to be their toy, and fighting wolves for their   
amusement. No one deserved that. 

Oliver charged full force toward the men, swinging his sword like a madman and killing left and right. Once everyone in that room was dead, he walked through a tunnel leading   
back to the leader’s room. The bandit in heavy steel armor didn’t notice Oliver walk in. He was busy.

“You’re gonna make me a lot of money tonight,” the man crooned to the woman. “You already did. I knew we did well all those years ago taking you. You’ve made us richer than   
the Jarl of Riften!” 

She was in a cage and looked as if she was treated the same way the wolves were. She was sitting and was forced to sleep in her own filth, and she looked as if she hadn’t taken a   
bath in years. She looked broken beyond repair, not physically but emotionally. Physical wounds could always heal; emotional wounds that were caused by things like this never   
heal.

“And I did well by doing this!” Oliver said before he stabbed the man in the neck from behind. A cry gurgled from the man’s lips before he fell over dead. The woman in the cage   
stared at the dead man in disbelief, a smile slowly creeping onto her face. Her eyes started to drift up to the killer of her tormenter, and her smile started to disappear. Happiness   
was replaced with fear when she saw the giant Nord man looking down at her. She didn’t know him, and he evidently scared her. He was sure lots of things scared her these days.

“Are you okay?” asked Oliver. A stupid question, really. Oliver knew she was not okay, but that was all he knew to say. 

“I-I’ve been better. Are you going to take me away from this place?” she asked.

“I am. I’m taking you to Riften. You need a healer.” Oliver sheathed his sword. He grabbed a key from the dead man’s pack and unlocked the door to her cage. She walked out and   
stretched her arms.

“Why are you here?” she asked with a small voice.

“It doesn’t matter right now. Drink this.” Oliver handed the woman a healing potion. When he looked at her more closely, he could see many cuts, some infected, bruises, scars,   
and dry blood. She took the vial and drank the liquid. 

“More, please,” she said and held her hand out to Oliver. He handed her another potion and watched as her bruises went away a little and her cuts healed. She was still weak and   
still had some wounds, but she was a lot stronger. 

“Drink this too.” Oliver handed her a stamina potion, which she drank quickly. “Here, eat this, too.” Oliver handed her his bag of food. He knew she could not eat it all, most likely   
having a small stomach from the tiny portions the bandits probably gave her. 

She tore into the bag and started eating. 

Oliver handed her his waterskin and told her to sit down on one of the bedrolls on the other side of the room. She did so without stopping her chewing. Oliver knew she must   
have been very hungry. 

While she was eating, Oliver walked over to a table and shelves containing skooma and moon sugar. Oliver took them as well. He would make sure to burn all of it tonight. He took   
everything he could and filled his pack with valuables he could sell. 

He turned to look at the girl. She had stopped eating and had drunk all the water from his waterskin. He didn’t mind; she needed it more than he did. Oliver walked over to her   
and sat down across from her. 

“What’s your name?” he asked her.

“Lilliana, but most people call me Lilly, although these people liked to call me ‘woman’ more than anything,”

“That’s a pretty name. I like it. I’m Oliver.”

“Will you tell me why you’re here now?”

“Yeah, sure. I was in Riften on a job for the Companions, and I found out there was a skooma dealer there. I killed the skooma dealer and found out he was getting his skooma   
from here, so I came here and planned to disrupt their operation. I think I interrupted more than I was hoping for, but I saved someone who needed to be saved, so I did well.”

“You’re a Companion?”

“I am.”

“Wow. You look young to be a Companion.”

“I’m twenty!”

“You look like you’re sixteen.”

“How old are you?”

“I’m not exactly sure. I was captured and taken here when I was fifteen, and I’ve been here a long time. I’ll guess I’m around eighteen.” 

“You’ve been here for three years?”

“Yes. I don’t know how I survived, but I did.”

“I guess you’re tougher than you look.” Oliver said and stood up. He walked over to a chest and tried to open it, but it was locked. “Ah, dammit,” he cursed.

“I can unlock it for you,” Lilly said and picked up a few lockpicks from the bandit leader’s table. Oliver moved out of her way so she could bend down in front of the chest. Her skills   
were rusty, but she picked the lock with breaking only one pick. Oliver was impressed. 

“Where did you learn that?” he asked.

“I grew up in Riften, home of the Thieves Guild. A man who ran a market stall there taught me how to be a master thief. I was picking pockets and locks by the time I was ten,   
although my mother didn’t like my skills, but I knew they would come in handy one day.”

“Wow,” Oliver said and looked through the chest. There were many enchanted items there, and he took them all. 

“And you thought I was just a pretty face!” Lilly chuckled.

“Well it’s nice to see that even though you just got rescued from bandits, you have a sense of humor,” Oliver said with a laugh of his own. He liked this girl already. 

~~~

Oliver seemed to be wrong about Lilliana. Maybe she’s not as broken as I thought. She seems to get her spirit back quickly. Oliver thought as the two walked back to Riften. Lilliana   
would not stop asking questions. She seemed to be very interested in the Companions, but Oliver couldn’t tell her much.

“Why do the Companions have wolves engraved in their weapons and armor?” she asked.

“I’m not sure; it’s their symbol, I guess,” Oliver replied.

“Hm . . . I like it.”

“Haven’t you been fighting wolves for the past three years of your life?”

“I fought the same wolves for those three years. I became acquainted with them. Don’t ask me how, but those bandits somehow got them to turn on me and make them fight me   
every other night. I’ve even slept in the same cage as some of those wolves.”

“How can you talk about that like it’s nothing?”

“Trust me, it’s not easy. I was just taught to be strong as a girl.”

“You’re a lot stronger than some of the ‘strongest’ warriors I’ve seen then, at least emotionally.”

“I’ll be strong again soon, and I’m no warrior; I’m more of a stealth archer.”

“Isn’t that more of a Bosmer thing?”

“I am a Nord, but I can’t even pick up that greatsword of yours. I do better at a distance, with my light feet backing me up. It’s fun to take someone by surprise, shoot them, and   
watch his friends run around to try to find out where the arrow came from.”

She’s strong, but seems kind of dark. No matter. I still like her spirit, Oliver thought. “You can’t pick up my sword now, but I’d bet you’ll be able to in a couple weeks.”

“You talk as if I’m going to become a Companion.”

“You talk as if you want to.”

“I’d be a better thief, but yes, I’d love to be a Companion.”

“Don’t worry; I think you’ll fit right in,” Oliver assured her as they walked in the gates to Riften. Lilliana immediately got strange looks from some residents of the fishing city.

“I knew they’d look at me funny,” Lilliana said, looking at the people looking at her.

“Don’t give them any mind. You’ll look back to normal once you start eating properly.”

“I hope so.”

When Oliver and Lilliana walked in, the Dunmer priestess ran up to the weak girl. “By Mara, are you alright?” she asked frantically, looking at the cuts and bruises that dotted her   
body, which was still loosely covered by the small pieces of clothing the bandits made her wear. 

“She needs a healer,” Oliver explained to the priestess. “I found her in a bandit den, and they were forcing her to fight wolves and used her for their, uh, personal enjoyment. She’s   
been there for . . . a while . . . and hasn’t been eating properly.” 

She nodded and led Lilliana to a back room that had a bed, table, and chair.

“Sit!” she ordered Lilliana. 

Lilliana sat down on the mattress with no argument. “Take that off and I’ll get you some real clothes.” The priestess gestured to what Lilliana was wearing. 

Lilliana reached up to take off her top, but eyed Oliver and stopped. 

“I’ll leave,” he said.

“You can come back once I’m wearing actual clothes,” Lilliana said as he walked out the door. 

He closed it behind him and heard the muffled sounds of undressing and dressing again, with a few grunts from Lilliana, indicating that she was in pain from the infected cuts and   
bruises. 

“All right, you can come back in now,” The priestess, who said her name was Dinya, said as she poked her head out the door. Oliver walked in and saw Lilliana sitting on the bed   
drinking a healing potion and wearing a blue dress with a brown vest. It hung loosely on her body, but Oliver could tell she would fill out a bit in time. Dinya walked over to Lilliana   
and took the now empty bottle from her hands. She grabbed a blue bottle, uncorked it, and set it on the table by the bed, and sat down across from Lilliana. 

“What are you doing?” Lilliana asked as the priest rolled up her sleeves. 

“I’m going to cast some healing spells on you. They should drain some of your energy and make you sleepy, but you need the rest,” Dinya said. “Can you roll up your sleeves too?”

“Sure.” Lilliana rolled up her sleeves as far as they could go and held her arm out to Dinya’s glowing hands. When the Dumner woman put her hand on Lilliana’s arm, the girl   
moaned. “I like this feeling,” she said. 

Dinya just chuckled and kept on moving her hand across the cuts and. She proceeded to do the same to her legs, back, stomach, and anywhere else that had a wound until her   
magicka and Lilliana’s energy were drained. 

Lilliana sighed and leaned back on the pillow behind her. “Will you come back for me and take me to Jorrvaskr?” she asked drowsily.

“Of course,” Oliver replied.

“Thank you for saving me. I’m sorry I won’t ever be able to repay you.”

“You don’t need to. It’s the Companions’ job to save people. I couldn’t just leave you there.”

“True. When I become a Companion, I’m gonna save lots of people,” she mumbled, half asleep.

“I’m sure you will. Get some rest, Lilly. After all you’ve been through, this is exactly what you need.” Oliver gave the worn-out girl’s hand a quick squeeze and left her to sleep.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can to check on her,” he told Dinya, who had followed him out of the room after covering Lilliana up with some furs. “Gotta admit, I’ve taken a liking to   
her.” 

“Yes, she’s a very sweet girl, or should I say, woman, despite what’s happened to her. Becoming a Companion will be a hard goal for her, but I think she’ll be able to do it.” 

“She’ll make a good Companion once she’s stronger,” as he turned to leave. “I’ll be back for her in a couple weeks. I’m sure with that determination of hers, she’ll be fit to be a   
warrior in no time.”

“She does have spirit. I can tell.”

~~~

Lilliana slept for almost a whole day before she woke up. When she did, she wished Oliver was there.

“Good, you’re awake,” the Dumner priest said from the doorway.

Lilliana looked up and smiled at Dinya. “The man who brought me here, Oliver, he’s coming back, right?”

“He said he would in a couple weeks and he thought you’d make a fine Companion,” Dinya answered with a smile. 

“All right!” Lilliana cheered, “Can I have something to eat?”

“Sure. Come to the kitchen with me.” Dinya held the door open for Lilliana, who walked across the temple to the other side.

“What’s going on?” Lilliana gestured to Maramal, who was cleaning the temple.

“There’s a wedding tomorrow. Maramal is cleaning up for it.” Dinya answered. 

“Who’s getting married?”

“Keerava and Talen-Jei, the two Argonians that run the Bee and the Barb.”

“Oh, I remember them! It’s nice that they’re getting married; I always suspected it.”

“You used to live in Riften?”

“I did, with my mother. We lived in the house right by the gates. Those bandits that got me attacked Riften . . . a-and, they killed my mother and took me as their toy,” Lilliana said   
shakily, unshed tears threatening to spill out of her eyes.

“I remember that day. So you’re Emma’s daughter . . . a shame what happed . . .” Dinya mumbled, looking down.

Lilliana decided to drop the topic. “Can I come to the wedding?”

Dinya perked back up. “Of course! All are welcome.”

“That’s nice,” Lilliana said, looking at the shrine to Mara on the table beside them. She followed Dinya to the kitchen and almost fainted at the sight of the food-lined shelves.

“Take what you want,” Dinya said. “I’m going to go help Maramal now.” 

As Dinya walked out of the room, Lilliana took a plate and piled it high with all sorts of food: baked potatoes, grilled chicken, sweetrolls, and bread. She also grabbed a tankard of   
water and walked back to her room.

“Real food is so good,” Lilliana mumbled over a mouthful of chicken and bread.

~~~

Oliver couldn’t help but think of Lilliana as he walked back to Whiterun. Once she joins, I’ll bet she’s eager. I bet she’ll want to work alone, too; most stealthy fighters do . . . I’ll   
have to convince her to take a shield-sibling with her until she becomes stronger.

He was ripped out of his thoughts when a blood-freezing roar echoed around him. Oliver looked up to see a dragon circling the western watchtower, and guards scurrying about   
trying to defeat it. The tower was crumbling and was on fire. Guards were on the ground, dead, around it. 

All Oliver knew to do was to help. He pulled out his greatsword and ran toward the scene. Archers were firing arrows at the oversized lizard, tearing its wings until it was forced to   
land. They dropped their bows and drew their weapons, charging at the dragon. Oliver hacked at the beast, cutting through the scales with difficulty, and making blood pour from   
the cuts on the dragon’s neck and back. Many fell from the dragon’s fire breath, and Oliver got a good burn to his shoulder as well.

When the dragon finally fell, it was deadly silent, until the dragon’s corpse began to burn, and a blinding light rushed toward Oliver.

The guards rushed up to him, and when his vision cleared, Oliver looked up to see shocked faces.

“By the Gods, you’re . . . Dragonborn!”


	4. Secrets Revealed All Around

“Lilliana?” Oliver asked, dumbfounded.

“Look better, don’t I?” she asked, grinning.

She was right. Her hair was no longer unwashed and tangled; it was cut a bit shorter, gathered in a long, blonde braid down her back. She was clean, and she looked healthy again, all the bruises and cuts having healed. When Oliver had first found her and thought she could have been pretty, he wasn’t wrong. Lilliana was a sight to make all the men fall for her.

“How did you get here?” Oliver asked.

“Did a few things around Riften, worked up enough coin, and hired a carriage to bring me here. Those priestesses sure know how to get a girl healthy again, and quick, too.”

“She’s even done a couple jobs for us!” Farkas added from across the room.

“Her sword arm could use a little work . . .” Vilkas mumbled.

“Her archery skills are great, though!” Aela said.

“You didn’t come for me,” Lilliana said. “I waited, but I’m not very patient. I took matters into my own hands.”

“Well, tell us what happened!” Ria pestered.

He told them the story of the Greybeards, Ustengrav, Delphine and the black dragon while everyone listened with wide eyes. “Delphine is going to send me a letter when she figures something out.”

The door burst open and a man came in. “I need to speak with the Harbinger of the Companions.”

“That’d be me,” Kodlak said and stood up from his chair. He and the man walked down to the living quarters, talking in hushed tones.

“Who was that?” Oliver asked.

“A scholar who says he may have found another fragment of Wuuthrad,” said Skjor. He sent us a letter a few days ago telling us he was going to come and talk to Kodlak.”

“Ysgramor’s axe?”

“Aye,” Vilkas confirmed.

The tension from Oliver’s story seemed to fade at that moment, and Oliver walked to the table and sat down and served himself a piece of steak from a platter on the table.

“So you’re really Dragonborn?” Lilliana asked later as they trained outside the mead hall.

“I am. I killed a dragon just over there,” Oliver said, pointing to the western watchtower in the distance.

“What does it feel like when you absorb its soul?” she asked.

“Weird, like a tingling sensation sort of. I can’t explain it.”

“Quit yapping and start training.” Vilkas said, walked by and scowling at them.

“Why does he scowl all the time?” Oliver asked Lilliana.

“Because that’s what he does best,” Farkas said, coming up to them.

Lilliana snickered at Farkas’s words.

“Skjor’s lookin’ for you two. I don’t know what he wants, but it’s best not to keep him waiting.”

“Where is he?” Oliver asked.

“In the main hall.”

Oliver and Lilliana walked inside and found Skjor sitting on a bench. “You wanted to see us?” Lilliana asked.

“There you are,” Skjor said. “Your time, it seems, has come. The scholar that came to us earlier said that a fragment of Wuuthrad might be located in Dustman’s Cairn. Our honor as Companions demands we seek it out. Kodlak has assigned this to be your trial, together. Farkas will be your shield-sibling on this trek.”

“I guess that means we’re partners,” Lilliana said to Oliver.

“I think we’ll be able to pull it off,” Oliver said.

“Me too,” Lilliana said as they walked back out to the training yard to find Farkas. He was hacking at a training dummy with his greatsword when they found him. When he saw them approach, he stopped and sheathed his weapon.

“Hmm?” he asked.

“Skjor said you were to be our shield-sibling on our trail to Dustman’s Cairn,” Lilliana said.

“All right. I can leave whenever you want.”

“How about tomorrow morning?” Oliver suggested.

“Sure.” Farkas agreed and unsheathed his greatsword once again.

“I’ve never been in a tomb before,” Lilliana mumbled beside Oliver.

“Don’t worry,” Oliver answered. “We’ll be able to get through it, and those tombs aren’t something to get so worked up over.”

~~~

The next morning, Oliver, Farkas, and Lilliana walked down the road toward Dustman’s Cairn. All of them were tired, and didn’t want to be up that early in the morning. When they neared the tomb, they took out their weapons and stepped inside.

“Someone’s been digging here, and recently. Be on the lookout,” Farkas advised as they walked into the first room.

“I’m going to scout ahead,” Lilliana said.

Oliver was about to protest when Farkas spoke up. “All right. Tell us when you see something.”

Lilliana crouched and nocked an arrow in her bow before sneaking ahead.

Oliver turned to Farkas. “How could you just let her go ahead like that?”

“She has proven to be quite the stealth archer in her short time with us,” Farkas said simply before continuing to walk.

They encountered only a few draugr before their first real problem. The three Companions entered a room with an arcane enchanter and a closed gate.

Farkas went off and looked at the enchanting table while Oliver and Lilliana looked for a way to open the gate, which was blocking them from the rest of the tomb.

“Hey, Oliver, can you come over here and help me with this?” Lilliana asked as she tried to pull a lever that was giving her a hard time.

“Sure.” Oliver walked over to the alcove Lilliana was in and grabbed the lever. Together, they pulled it. They heard the gate opening and turned around, but saw that iron bars had blocked them into their alcove.

Sighing, Lilliana took some potions that were in the chamber as Oliver pulled at the lever. It wouldn’t budge.

“Now look at what you’ve gotten yourself into! Don’t worry, I’ll find the release,” Farkas said to them from the other side of the bars. Suddenly, people with shiny weapons ran up and surrounded Farkas.

“Time to die, dog!” one of them said.

“You made a mistake coming here, Companion!” another one said.

“Which one is that?” a woman asked.

“Doesn’t matter; he wears that armor, he dies!”

“Killing you will make for an _excellent_ story,” another woman sneered.

“None of you will be alive to tell it,” Farkas said calmly and dropped his sword. Oliver and Lilliana watched in terror and confusion as Farkas bent over like someone had stabbed his stomach and fur began to sprout from his body.

“Oliver, is he--?” Lilliana asked quietly.

“A werewolf? I think so . . .” Oliver answered, trying not to sound scared but failing.

Farkas grew claws, and the morphing of his body caused his armor to break and fall off him. The people who threatened him backed up in fear of the beast in front of them, but still held their weapons ready to fight. When Farkas’s transformation was complete, he let out a blood-freezing roar that echoed in the cavern.

The people with silver weapons took that as the cue to attack. They began hacking at Farkas, but their attempts were futile. Farkas swung at them and killed them all in two swift moves.

Once they were all dead, Farkas ran into the newly opened chamber. A minute passed, and the bars in front of Oliver and Lilliana lifted. They slowly walked out, still shocked from the moments before. Then Farkas walked in, completely naked.

Lilliana jumped and seemed to want to turn the other way, but she couldn’t seem to pry her eyes from the sight in front of her. Farkas had muscles, and lots of them. He was big, even for a Nord, in all the right places. From his shoulders to his stomach, Lilliana’s eyes travelled lower.

Farkas didn’t seem to notice her staring, but Oliver did. He nudged Lilliana on her shoulder, and she jumped. “Oh . . . sorry.” She blushed and turned away.

Farkas took the remains of his armor and put them on. They didn’t cover much, but at least now he was decent. “Hope I didn’t scare you,” he said as he picked up his greatsword from the ground.

“You’re a werewolf,” Oliver stated.

“Yes,” Farkas sighed. “It’s a blessing given to some of the Companions. We can be like wild beasts, fearsome.”

“You’re gonna turn us into werewolves?” Lilliana asked, somewhat scared.

“No. Prove your honor to be a Companion. Only the Circle have the beastblood. That’s Kodlak, Skjor, Aela, and Vilkas and me. Even if you two are accepted into the Circle, we won’t turn you into werewolves. Kodlak and Vilkas say that we should stop our transformations. I don’t know why. I just do what they say.”

“Oh . . .” Lilliana said and started to walk to the newly opened chamber.

The rest of the trek was mostly silent. The three Companions took out both draugr and Silver Hand, as Oliver and Lilliana learned they were called. They were werewolf hunters, getting their names from their silver weapons.

After a while, Lilliana found a chest. “It’s locked,” she said, tugging at the lid.

“Then let’s keep moving. None of knows how to pick a lock,” Oliver said.

“That’s where you’re wrong,” said Lilliana. “Remember, I grew up in Riften. I have all the skills thieves do. I was picking master locks and noblemen’s pockets by the time I was ten.”

Oliver didn’t believe her much until she managed to open the lock with three broken lockpicks and then as she walked by him, take his coin purse from his pack without him knowing. As she handed him his coin purse smugly, he knew this girl would make an excellent teammate.

They continued on through the ruin. After an hour or so, they came to the final chamber. Coffins lined the walls, giving the room and eerie feeling. At the end of the room, there was a Word Wall and a table in front of it.

“Here’s the fragment,” Oliver said, and he picked up the fragment from the table. Just then, the sound of lids falling of coffins echoed in the room. Lilliana jumped on the table and began to shoot arrows and the draugr that emerged from their resting places. Farkas and Oliver cut them down with their swords.

The draugr emerged from their coffins in waves of about five. Lilliana was able to bring two or three down with her bow from atop the table before Oliver and Farkas had to step in. Farkas received an arrow to his shoulder, and shortly after, a draugr worked its way through and got to Lilliana, giving her a sharp cut to her leg before she could shoot it down. Oliver received a few dents in his armor as well. By the time they had killed all the undead, the three Companions were worn-out.

Oliver was approaching the Word Wall to get that annoying chanting out of his head when Lilliana spoke up.

“Does anyone else hear that chanting?”

“Not me,” Farkas said. Oliver watched as Lilliana began to walk toward the Word Wall and the words start to glow. Lilliana fell to her knees as light rushed toward her. Oliver was shocked.

Oliver could still hear the chanting, so he walked toward the wall as well. The word was _‘yol’_. It meant fire.

“What was that?” Lilliana asked.

 “That was you learning a Word of Power. I learned it too, because I’m Dragonborn.” Oliver answered.

“Does that mean I’m Dragonborn, too?” Lilliana asked with a small voice.

“Only killing a dragon will tell us for sure.” Oliver said.

“Then let’s go kill a dragon!” Lilliana exclaimed like a small child, eager to do something.

“It’s not that easy. Those things are tough. Let’s only fight one if it’s absolutely necessary,” Oliver asked, not wanting to go hunt a dragon down on purpose.

“All right.” Lilliana sounded disappointed. Oliver turned to Farkas, who had watched the whole ordeal and didn’t fully comprehend it all. _We’ll tell Vilkas about it later and he’ll explain to Farkas,_ Oliver thought, _Vilkas can always seem to get Farkas to make sense of things. Guess it’s a twin thing._

All three walked out of the tomb through a secret passageway that had opened up out of a coffin and came out the other side right in the main entrance. Going through this ruin revealed two things: Farkas and the rest of the Circle were werewolves, and Lilliana could be Dragonborn. Both of them were shocking.

~~~

The trip back to Jorrvaskr was silent, mostly. The three Companions only encountered a few wolves on the trek back. Once they got back to Jorrvaskr, which was right at dusk, Vilkas was waiting for them on the steps.

“We’ve been waiting for you. Come with me.” He began walking to the training yard. Kodlak, Aela, and Skjor were standing in an incomplete formation of a circle. Farkas walked up and stood next to Kodlak, and Vilkas stood by him.

“Come on,” Aela said, pointing to the open spot next to her. Oliver and Lilliana proceeded to the spot and make the circle complete. Then Kodlak spoke.

“Brothers and Sisters of the Circle, today we welcome two new souls into our mortal fold. This man,” he gestured to Oliver, “and this woman,” he gestured to Lilliana, “have endured, have challenged, and shown their valor. Who will speak for them?”

“I stand witness to the courage of the souls before us,” Farkas said, smiling.

“Would you raise your shield in their defense?” Kodlak asked.

“I would stand at their backs, so the world might never overtake us.”

“And would you raise your sword in their honor?”

“It stands ready to meet the blood of their foes!”

“And would you raise a mug in their name?”

“I would lead the song of triumph as our mead hall reveled in their stories!” Farkas answered with a chuckle.

“Then the judgment of the Circle is complete. Their hearts beat with fury and courage that have waited the Companions since the days of the distant green summers. Let them beat with ours, that the mountains may echo and our enemies may tremble at the call.”

“It shall be so,” answered the rest of the Circle. Kodlak walked up to Lilliana and Oliver.

“Well, you’re one of us now. I trust you two won’t disappoint.”

“I know I won’t!” Lilliana answered proudly.

“Your heart beats with a fire that could warm our whole hall. I’m sure you won’t,” Kodlak answered warmly.

Ria, who had apparently become a good friend of Lilliana’s, pulled her away.

“Come on! We have to celebrate!” she said.

“Come, boy. I have something I want to talk to you about,” Kodlak said to Oliver.

“Sure thing.” Oliver followed Kodlak down to the Harbinger’s room and sat down at the small table Kodlak always sat at.

“You have said that your grandfather was a Companion?” Kodlak asked.

“He was. I knew him when I was very young, but them my mother moved me to Cyrodiil with her, so I don’t remember much about him.”

“What do you remember?”

“He . . . was kind, and cared for others a lot. He cared about my mother and me very much. I have this one good memory of him, where he was teaching me how to hold a sword properly, and was patient when I kept messing up. I wish I could remember more about him, but I was so young . . . I don’t even remember his name.”

“I think I know who your grandfather is . . . tell me, what is your mother’s name?”

“Amelia Storm-Cloud. I don’t remember her maiden name before she married.”

“Her maiden name was Amelia Whitemane.” Kodlak smiled. “Oliver, I’m your grandfather.”

“Y-you are?” Oliver asked.

“I am. Your mother is my daughter. I remember when she told me she was going to go to Cyrodiil with some nobleman and taking you away. You always said you wanted to grow up to become Harbinger of the Companions just like your grandfather. I was disappointed in your mother for taking you away from where you wanted to be. I told her you would have been fine here, and that was where you wanted to be. I fought for you to stay here, but she took you away. I couldn’t stop her . . . But you came back like you told me you would on the day you left, and joined the Companions.”

“I didn’t expect my grandfather to be Harbinger of the Companions! I was sure he would be dead by now.”

“You don’t seem to have much faith in me!” Kodlak joked. Oliver and Kodlak, now grandson and grandfather, talked for hours about nothing at all, telling of fights, and Oliver telling about his childhood in Cyrodiil. Then, Kodlak asked an unexpected question.

“How do you feel about Lilliana?”

“What do you mean ‘how do I feel about Lilliana’?”

“You like her. I’ve seen the way you look at her. You think she’s a fine-looking woman.”

“So what if I do?”

“She’s a fine woman to pursue. She’s much like your mother was at her age: has a temper, smart, curious. Not to mention she’s a fine archer. Her looks only make it that much better.”

“So you’re saying I should fall for her?”

“I’m not commanding it. I’m saying that if you ever start to fall for her, you’re falling for the right girl.”

“How did you get to be this wise?” Oliver asked.

“Time, patience, and experience. Everything comes in time, my boy.”

~~~

The next day, Oliver woke to Lilliana shaking his shoulder.

“Hey, get up! We have things to do!”

“What is it?” Oliver asked, pulling a lock of hair out of his dark blue eyes. It was then he noticed Lilliana had light blue eyes.

“I got a job to catch a criminal in the Reach. You’re coming with me.”

“When did we talk about this?” Oliver asked, sitting up.

“Just did, and what? We worked pretty well together in Dustman’s Cairn, so why can’t we be partners? I’d like the company. Come on, I know you’re okay with my presence.”

Oliver couldn’t deny that her logic was reasonable. “All right, when do we leave?”

“Whenever you get up and get ready. I’ll give you more details about the job on the way to Markarth.”

“All right,” Oliver mumbled. Lilliana bounced out of the room as he got up. Sighing, he put on his armor and strapped his sword to his back. When he entered the main hall, he found Lilliana sitting at a table with Aela, talking and eating.

Lilliana looked up and saw Oliver, smiled, and waved her hand for him to come sit next to her. He did so and sat by the two women.

Aela leaned back in her seat, smiled, and chuckled.

“What is it?” Lilliana asked.

“Oh, nothing,” Aela answered and stood up to go sit with Skjor.

“What were you two talking about?” Oliver asked.

“Oh, just girl things,” Lilliana said and turned her head.

Oliver chucked at her, acting like a young girl, and took a bite of bread. “So what about this job?” Oliver asked.

“A criminal escaped from the Falkreath jail,” Lilliana answered, “and the guards there believe that he ran to somewhere in the Reach, so we’ll go ask the guards in Markarth if they’ve seen anything suspicious. Then we’ll get the criminal.”

“Sounds good to me. While we’re in the Reach, we’ll have to watch out for the Forsworn.”

“Those Reachmen?”

“Yeah,” Oliver replied and finished his food.

“You ready yet?” Lilliana asked.

“Hold on, just let me get my pack.” Oliver went down to the living quarters. He grabbed his pack and put his supplies inside, and then met Lilliana at the door. She had her pack slung over one shoulder and was trying to put an extra bundle of steel arrows in, but she was having a hard time.

“Here, let me try.” Oliver grabbed her pack and moved some things around to fit the arrows in.

“Thanks,” she said and grabbed the pack from him.

“You ready?”

“Uh, got my potions, arrows, bow, sword . . . money . . . dagger in the boot . . .” she seemed to be going over a checklist.

“You have a dagger in your boot?” Oliver asked, walking down the steps to the Gildergreen.

“I do. What if someone knocks my sword or bow out of my hands whenever we’re fighting? It’s nice to have a backup.”

“Hm, makes sense.” They continued to the stables.

“Want to take a carriage there?” she asked.

“Nah, carriage rides are boring. Maybe we’ll run into some bandits on the way to Markarth or something and have some action happen.”

“As long as we don’t have to fight a Hagraven.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I was on a job to clear out some skeevers from a cave, and there was a Hagraven in there! The thing almost killed me! I had nightmares about them for a few days after that.”

“Heh, the first time I encountered some draugr, I had nightmares about them for a few days.”

“Looks like we all have a fear!”

“I guess we do.”

Oliver and Lilliana continued to walk down the road towards Markarth.

~~~

Oliver and Lilliana found an alcove off the road to set up camp in. It couldn’t be seen by travelers and provided shelter if it decided to rain or snow.

“We’ll probably make it to Rorikstead by mid-day tomorrow,” Oliver said as he pitched their tent.

“I’ve never been there,” Lilliana said from behind him. She was gathering firewood.

“I haven’t either. How are you doing with the firewood?”

“Good. You think this is enough?”

Oliver turned to see a good pile of wood.

“Yeah, that’s enough. You set up the wood and I’ll look for something to make a spark with.”

“Don’t worry about that. I have something that’ll work perfectly/” Lilliana put the wood in the correct formation for a campfire. Once she got the wood set up, she sat in front of it, clenched her fists, and seemed to concentrate on something.

“What are you doing?” Oliver asked.

“Concentrating. Hold on, you’ll see.” After a minute, fire glowed in her left hand, and she shot it at the wood, lighting it.

“Where did you learn to do that?”

“Dinya taught me when I was in Riften. I thought it would come in handy. I was right.”

“Yes, yes you were,” Oliver said as he warmed his hands.

“I’ll cook the rabbits we got,” Lilliana said and grabbed the bag with rabbit meat and began to cut it into small pieces.

“Gimme the pot and I’ll put some water in it,” Oliver said. Together, they made rabbit stew.

“It’s not as good as Tilma’s,” Lilliana said while they were eating, “but I think I did a pretty good job. Thanks for helping me.”

“I like it.” Oliver dipped a piece of bread into his stew.

“You’re just saying that to make me happy,” Lilliana protested.

“Nonsense. Let’s see, you’re a great archer, not bad with a sword, smart enough to keep a dagger in your boot, can pick the lock on a rich man’s safe, can pickpocket a nobleman of all his gold, can talk a Khajiit out of his last bowl of moon sugar, can sneak past a whole room full of guards, can outrun a wolf, and have the spirit to make a great Companion. Don’t be afraid to walk with your head held high, because you have some talent.”

Lilliana blushed furiously. “You flatter me.”

“Not to mention you’re insanely gorgeous . . .” Oliver mumbled while Lilliana took a bite of stew.

Lilliana then choked on her stew. “Y-you think I’m ‘insanely gorgeous’?”

“You heard that?”

“Yeah!”

“Well, I said it, didn’t I? Why would I lie?”

“Thanks,” Lilliana said, not sure how to react to his words. Both warriors looked away from each other, blushing.

~~~

**All right! Some more info! Some of you might have seen that coming, but I hope it shocked some people. What was more shocking, the fact that Lilliana is Dragonborn, of Kodlak being Oliver's grandfather? I'd like to know which you guys thought was more "wow". Anyway, remember to review!**

**-Rayne**


	5. Part of the Pack

“Oliver, can I ask you something?” Lilliana asked as they walked towards the table they would eat breakfast at.

“Sure, what is it?”

“Why weren’t you at the celebration the other day, when we were inducted into the Circle? Kodlak wanted to talk to you right? You were in there for a while… Were you in trouble?”

“No, not at all. Kodlak just had to tell me something.”

“What was it?”

“Uh,” Oliver was told that he was not supposed to tell anyone, so that the others wouldn’t think Kodlak would like him more than anyone else, “I’m not so sure I should tell you.”

“Come on. You can trust me, and you’ve gotten my interest. There’s no turning back, now.”

“Fine, but you have to swear not to tell anyone.”

“I swear, promise, and cross my heart I won’t tell a soul.”

“Kodlak is my grandfather. I knew him when I was small, but then my mother moved to Cyrodiil to marry some nobleman. I came back to Skyrim not long ago to join the Companions like my grandfather did. Later did I know, my grandfather had become the Harbinger of the Companions.”

“That’s what he was telling you?” Lilliana asked.

“Yes, we sat and talked for a while.” Oliver answered,

“About what you two did while you were away?”

“Yep.”

“Were you two close?”

“When I was little, we were.”

“You were sad to leave, then.” Lilliana said, a touch of sadness in your voice.

“I was.”

“I’m sorry that you had to go through that.”

“Don’t be, it’s not your fault.”

The two sat in silence until Oliver got an idea. “Well, I told you how my childhood was, tell me about yours.”

“There’s not much to tell. I never knew my father. He died in a hunting accident when I was very young. My mother was an alchemist, an apprentice to the alchemists in Riften. I often liked to hang around, watching my mother make potions. I still can craft a few simple ones. When I wasn’t in the alchemy shop, I was in the market with my friend. He was part of the Thieves Guild, and he taught me everything I knew about thievery. He always said I was going to be a master thief someday, and once I turned eighteen, I should have joined the Guild. Then one day my mother and I were going out to find alchemy ingredients, when the bandits attacked. My friend tried to save her, but couldn’t, and when he saw them taking me, he tried so hard to get me back, but he couldn’t, and they took me away. I remember that like it was yesterday…” Lilliana said with a faraway look.

“Your friend’? Did he not have a name?”

“He did. I’m not gonna say it here, since he’s in the Thieves Guild and all.”

“Did you not see him when you were in Riften?”

“No. I hope he was just out on a job and not dead.”

Then their food came, and the two ate in silence.

After they finished, they headed for the guard’s barracks. “I’ve never been to Markarth before. We’ll have to explore a Dwemer ruin one day. From what this place looks like, it looks like those ruins would be interesting.” Lilliana said as they walked through the city.

“We might one day, once we’re a bit more skilled with our weapons, perhaps.”

“Halt, no one enters here. Official business only,” a guard said once they got to the door to the barracks.

“We’re Companions, here about the escaped criminal from Falkreath. The guards in Falkreath seem to think the fugitive ran to the Reach, so we want to know if you’ve seen anything suspicious.” Lilliana said to the guard. Oliver was impressed of her tone of voice. She meant business.

“Some patrols have been talking of a strange man, with dirty red hair, green eyes, an Imperial or Breton, kind of short and skinny, hanging around the inn. He doesn’t do much, but he seems skittish. Could he be your guy?” asked the guard.

“Fits the description pretty well. Thank you. Come on, Oliver. I remember him in the inn.” Lilliana said.

“Would you like our assistance?” asked the guard.

“Have a few men stand watch outside the inn, but don’t come in. I have a plan.” Lilliana said. The guard nodded and walked into the barracks.

“What’s the plan?” Oliver asked.

“I’ll use my prettiness and way with words to get our guy to come out of the inn, then, with the guards on one side, and me and you on the other, he’ll have nowhere to run to when confronted.”

“You’re going to seduce him?”

“Yes. I want you to act as a regular patron in the inn and keep an eye on our guy when I’m dealing with him. When we start to go outside, you follow us. I’m going to wait until night to start.”

“All right. Be careful. This guy might be a pervert.”

“Then it’ll just be easier!” Lilliana said and stopped in front of the inn. When the guards arrived, she got them to stand outside the door in a half-circle, blocking the door once it was night time.

* * *

“When we step inside, follow my lead.” Lilliana said as they entered the inn. Oliver spotted their guy sitting at a table, alone, nursing a bottle of mead, and looked a little drunk. “Sit close to where you can hear our conversation.” Lilliana said. Oliver took a seat at a table near them, just close enough so he could hear his and Lilliana’s interactions.

“Hey, mind if I share a drink with you?” Lilliana asked, a hint of sadness in her voice.

“Aren’t you with him?” slurred the criminal.

“I _was_ until he broke my heart…” Lilliana sniffed. Oliver was impressed with how quickly Lilliana was able to think and make things work out.

“Oh, so the pretty lady needs a real man’s comfort!” said the man, “Sure, have some good, Black-Briar mead, on me!” Lilliana drank two bottles of mead, but slowly, and made sure to get the criminal even more drunk.

“Come on, I know somewhere more private we can go.” Lilliana crooned to the man.

“Oh, yes… very good.” Slurred the man as he stumbled to keep up with Lilliana, who was heading for the exit. Oliver took that as his cue to follow. Once they were outside, the guards all unsheathed their weapons.

“Hands up, criminal! You are wanted for crimes against Skyrim and her people! What say you in your defense?” one of the guards asked.

“Wha-, no! I didn’t do it!” pleaded the drunk man.

“Oh, shut up and come along quietly.” Said one of the guards and grabbed the man.

“Looks like our work here is done!” Lilliana said, sitting down at the table she was at and taking her third, half-finished bottle of mead and drinking it. Her mind was fuzzy from the mead, Oliver could tell. It was then he realized he had never seen her drunk before. Maybe tonight would be the night.

“Lemme get a few more bottles of those!” Oliver said to the innkeeper. He brought some more bottles of the mead and sat them down. Oliver handed him a coinpurse.

“I’ve never been drunk before…” Lilliana said as she reached for another bottle.

“Then you might want to take it easy.” Oliver warned. He took his own bottle of mead and began to drink, slowly watching Lilliana get more and more drunk. It felt wrong to watch her get drunk like this, but he wanted to see how she was.

“Come here,” Lilliana slurred. Oliver moved closer to the blonde girl. She then put her forehead on his shoulder. “I’m sleepy…”

“Then let’s get you to bed.” Oliver said to the girl.

“Okay…” Lilliana stood up, but wobbled, and began to fall.

“Woah!” Oliver caught her and picked her up. She wasn’t heavy at all. She put her arms around his neck and snuggled into his chest.

“Hmm,” she sighed, content, “you’re warm.”

“And so are you.” Oliver now knew the girl was more affectionate with mead in her. She smiled and leaned on Oliver as he took her to her room. When he laid her down on her bed, she didn’t let go of his neck.

“Stay with me…” she mumbled and fell asleep. Oliver realized she was still in her armor, so he had to do what was wrong, but he felt a strange excitement to do: take it off.

Slowly, he took off each piece of armor, making sure he didn’t wake her up. It was unlikely though; she was sleeping off a hangover. Once he had gotten her armor off, she was left in her smalls. He stood up, looked at the woman in front of him.

Exposed, she was a goddess. Her skin was the color of cream, and she had small scars in some places in the shape of teeth marks. Her legs were long and lean from running. Her stomach was flat, and poked out just a little around her bellybutton, showing that she liked to eat. Her chest was not as big as most Nord women’s, but she was still beautiful. They were big enough to fit perfectly in Oliver’s hand. If only he could test his theory…

Her face was set in an expression of worry, showing her true colors instead of her usual, carefree self she showed to other people. It almost ruined the image, but he could still tell that her face was just as pretty as the rest of her. Unfortunately, she was on her back, so he couldn’t see her butt. Her hair was laid across her pillow, going in waves across the surface.

Oliver grabbed some furs and covered the woman. When he left the room, he knew he would have to do something about the extreme tightness of his pants Lilliana had caused…

* * *

 

The next day, Oliver and Lilliana took a carriage back to Whiterun. Lilliana got in the wagon, and immediately went back to sleep. Oliver had a hard time getting her up, but once he said she could just put on some leather pants and a cotton shirt and sleep on the way to Whiterun, she agreed. When asked, she didn’t remember anything after turning the criminal over to the guards, and Oliver was glad. He didn’t want her to know what he had to do the night before.

While Lilliana slept, Oliver sharpened their blades. _Oh, right, we can get some Skyforge steel weapons now…_ Oliver remembered.

“So you two are Companions?” asked the carriage driver, Kibell.

“We are. Just caught a criminal that ran from Falkreath.” Oliver said.

“What’d he do?”

“I’m not sure… think he robbed a store or something.”

“Damn shame, what some people do, isn’t it?”

“Sure is…” Oliver said and thought of Lilliana, who could be a thief. He hoped she would never consider stealing anything.

* * *

 

They arrived in Whiterun in three days. As usual, the city was busy and cheerful. Jorrvaskr still smelled of mead.

“Why are we going to the Skyforge?” Lilliana asked as they walked up the steps to the forge.

“We can get Skyforge steel weapons now, remember?” Oliver answered.

“Oh yeah…”

Eorlund was at his forge as usual, hammering away on a sword. When he saw the two Companions walk up, he looked up and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“Something you need?” he asked.

“We were told you could make us a weapon.” Oliver said.

“I can. What do you have in mind?” Eorlund asked.

“I want a greatsword.” Oliver said.

“Do you think you could make me a bow?” Lilliana asked.

“Ah, when Aela came up here to have her blade sharpened, she told me of how good of an archer you were. I can’t make you a steel bow, but I can make you an elven one. How does that sound?” Eorlund asked.

“Sounds great!” Lilliana smiled, “Thanks, Eorlund!”

“No problem. It’ll take me a few days to make them, though.”

“That’s fine.” Oliver said, “Hey, you think I could help? I’d like to know how to make weapons and armor.”

“Sure, I’d like the help!” Eorlund said.

“I’m going down to train with Aela and get the pay from the job. Want me to take your pack?” Lilliana asked Oliver.

“Sure, thanks. Just put it on my bed.” Oliver said to Lilliana as he handed her his pack.

* * *

 

At eight o’clock, Eorlund stopped working and went home. During their four hour training session, Oliver learned how to make steel weapons, and assisted in making his sword. It was shiny and sharp. Eorlund said they would start to work on Lilliana’s bow tomorrow.

Oliver walked down the steps to the training yard, and found Vilkas and Lilliana sparring. Vilkas currently had the upper hand, as he was pushing his sword against Lilliana’s. If she moved her sword in an attempt to win, he could bring his down and win. She seemed to be in a situation where she couldn’t win, but she hadn’t yielded.

After a minute, Lilliana moved suddenly and pushed Vilkas’ sword back, staggering him and taking him by surprise. She put the flat side of her sword against his neck and declared, “I win.”

Aela and Farkas, who were watching, clapped for her. “You’re getting better.” Vilkas told Lilliana before slapping her back. She smiled and walked to the porch to Aela was.

“I’m getting Eorlund to make me an elven bow,” she told her.

“That’ll take some getting used to; it’s a big change from that hunting bow you use. I have an elven bow. After we eat, I can train you to use it if you want to.” Aela told her.

“I’d like that, thanks.” Lilliana replied. Oliver followed them into Jorrvaskr.

“That was a good move, what you did with Vilkas.” Oliver told her.

“Thanks! Oh, and here’s half of what I got paid for the job. You helped me so I thought you should get some of the pay, too.” Lilliana handed him a coinpurse.

“Oh, I don’t need this, I-“ Oliver protested.

“Just take it. It’s a hundred septims.” Lilliana said and sat down at the table.

“Fine,”

After Oliver got through eating, he went down to his bed to put his money up and found his pack on his bed. He moved it to beside his bed where he usually kept it and put the coinpurse in. He noticed he was getting pretty wealthy, and wondered what he would use the money for. Then, he got an idea.

“I’ll pay Farengar to enchant our weapons for us!” he mumbled.

“Who’s ‘us’?” Athis asked from behind him.

“Huh?” Oliver didn’t realize he said ‘us’.

“You said ‘I’ll pay Farengar to enchant our weapons for _us_!’. Who’s ‘us’?”

“Uh,”

“It’s you and Lilliana isn’t it?”

“How did you know?”

“C’mon, everyone knows you think she’s pretty! She’s not a bad fighter, either. You were just gone on a job with her for over a week!”

“How did you know I think she’s pretty?”

“Every time you see her, your eyes practically pop out of your head.”

“They do not!”

“Oh yes they do, my friend!” Torvar said from the doorway.

“You think she’s pretty, too!” Oliver countered.

“I think a lot of women are pretty.” Torvar said smoothly.

“What is going on down here? I can hear you all the way down the hall!” Kodlak said as he walked in.

“Oliver thinks Lilliana’s pretty.” Torvar said to the Harbinger.

“What’s wrong with that?” Oliver asked.

“Nothing. What’s wrong is that you don’t see that she likes you, too.” Athis said.

“Ha, she does not!” Oliver laughed.

“C’mon, her whole face lights up when she sees you!” Athis said.

“Her whole faces lights up when she sees food, too.” Oliver said.

“Who says that’s a bad thing?” Torvar asked.

“I don’t.” Athis said.

“They’re young. They’ll figure it out eventually.” Kodlak said.

“Thank you, Kodlak.” Oliver said.

“Love always finds a way…” Kodlak mumbled as he walked back into his room.

“Now will you leave me alone?” Oliver asked.

“Sure, sure.” Torvar mumbled. Oliver walked out of the room to see Aela and Lilliana coming downstairs. He nodded to them and walked upstairs.

* * *

 

“Here,” Oliver said as he handed Lilliana the elven bow. He had paid Farengar to put a fire enchantment on it earlier. Oliver was surprised at how quickly he could enchant the weapon.

“Wow, is it enchanted?” Lilliana asked as she pulled the bowstring back.

“It is. It’s a fire enchantment. I thought that since you’re a fiery person, a fire enchantment would fit your weapon well.”

“I love it!” she said as she jumped up and gave Oliver a quick hug.

“I got Farengar to put a soul trap enchantment on my sword so we can fill all those empty soul gems we find and use them to recharge our weapons.”

“Oh yeah, Skjor wants to see us tonight. I don’t know why, but we’re not supposed to tell anyone. He said he’d meet us on the porch.” Lilliana said.

“What are you going to do until then?” Oliver asked her.

“Hunt. Why do you ask?”

“I can help. I don’t really want to train.”

“I don’t mind if you come along. Grab one of those bows and get some arrows too. I can show you a few things about archery.” Lilliana said.

“Are you sure? I’m really bad at it.”

“Hm, suit yourself.” Lilliana said as she walked towards the gates.

Oliver and Lilliana walked out of Whiterun and out to the plains. Lilliana had her bow out and a concentrated look on her face while she walked. She saw a deer run by, and fast as lightning, she took an arrow, put it in her bow, pulled the string back and let it fly into the deer’s neck, killing it. She continued to do this and brought down another deer, and three rabbits. Oliver helped and skinned the animals while Lilliana hunted for more. Soon, dusk was nearing, so they took their meat and walked back up to Whiterun.

They gave the meat to Tilma, who thanked them for it and said once she got some more ingredients, she would make them a stew out of the meat they brought her. Oliver planned to use the pelts to make leather for his smithing.

Oliver and Lilliana walked outside and found Skjor, who was holding a torch.

“Follow me,” he said. Skjor walked to a stone wall under the Skyforge. “Are you prepared?” he asked Oliver and Lilliana.

“I’m ready.” They both said.

“Good.” Skjor reached over and hit a hidden switch, and a stone door appeared. He walked through, followed by Oliver and Lilliana.

Once they were inside, Oliver and Lilliana stopped in their tracks. A werewolf with red fur was standing before them.

“I hope you recognize Aela, even in this form. I’m glad you came. It’s been a long time since we had a heart like yours among our numbers. Kodlak insists on throwing this gift away, but it makes us stronger. Are you ready to take the shared blood of the wolf?” Skjor asked Oliver and Lilliana.

“You’re going to turn us into werewolves?” Lilliana asked.

“You must accept the beastblood if you wish to continue to rise in the ranks of the Companions.” Skjor said.

“Alright… I’m ready.” Lilliana said timidly.

“So am I.” Oliver agreed. With that, Skjor walked over to the werewolf that was Aela, lifted its arm, and sliced it open. Blood spilled out and into the basin in front of them. It was dark, thick, and had a horrible smell.

“Drink it?” Lilliana mumbled.

“Yes.” Skjor assured.

“Alright…” Lilliana and Oliver bent over the basin and scooped up some blood with their hands. Ignoring their instincts, they drank it until Skjor seemed pleased.

Nothing happened for a moment. Then, Oliver felt his bones start to shift. He cried out in pain and fell to the floor. Lilliana did the same. Aela shifted back into a human and ran to Lilliana and began to take her armor off. Skjor did the same for Oliver.

Fur sprouted from Oliver’s body, his teeth grew longer and sharpened, his nose turned into a snout, and his cries of pain became growls as he shifted into a wolf. He looked up and saw Lilliana writhing on the floor beside him with blonde fur covering her, too. That was the last thing he remembered before he blacked out.

* * *

 

**Longer chapter now, your welcome, I guess. Well, now Oliver and Lilliana are werewolves! Next chapter, Oliver, Lilliana, and Aela clear out Gallows Rock. Remember to review!**

**-Rayne :)**


	6. Rise of the Silver Hand

When Oliver woke, his head hurt. He moaned in pain and sat up. He realized he was naked, but he didn’t seem to care. He looked over and saw Lilliana beside him. She was still asleep . . . and naked. Oliver looked away and up to see Aela standing in front of him.

“Good, you’re awake,” Aela said and gave him his pack, containing his armor and weapons, “I was starting to think we lost you. Yours was not an easy transformation, but you’re still alive. We have a celebration planned for you two.” Oliver looked over and saw Lilliana was waking up as well, and was starting to put her armor on, too. Once they both were clothed, Aela led them to a fort that was occupied by Silver Hand. They took out the guards on the outside, and Lilliana asked the question Oliver was wondering.

“Where are we?”

“Just south of Windhelm,” Aela answered.

“We ran that far?”

“Aye,” Aela said, “The cowards must have locked the place down after Skjor charged in. You can almost taste the fear!”

Oliver pulled a chain down, making a set of iron bars go into the floor, allowing them to go further. “You scout ahead. Aela and I will back you up if you call,” he told Lilliana.

“Thanks.” Lilliana crouched and took the lead. They went down a flight of stairs and turned left. Lilliana shot a couple Silver Hand in their heads, killing them. She took their gold and searched the room they were in.

Oliver approached a dead werewolf hanging from his arm in a small, closet-like room in the back of the room.

“Nothing we can do for him, now. Most werewolves these people have captured have gone rouge and let the beast take over them. Best we just move on,” Aela said from behind.

“Go through here. That other door is blocked from the other side,” Lilliana said as she went through a door. They heard her take out a skeever.

“No surprise they keep vermin here, filthy squalor.” Aela kicked the corpse aside.

“Watch out, there’s a pressure plate up there that makes a door with spikes swing out,” Lilliana whispered to them before continuing up the stairs. Soon, they heard fighting and rushed to help Lilliana out.

She had taken out two Silver Hand before three more started to overwhelm her. Oliver stabbed one through the stomach and Aela shot down the other two.

“Thanks for the help,” Lilliana said. She was rubbing her shoulder.

“Did they get you?” Aela asked.

“An arrow got me a little,” Lilliana said and held up a glowing hand to her shoulder.

“Did you learn some healing magic, too?” Oliver asked her.

“I did,” Lilliana answered before crouching again. They moved forward and went down a flight of stairs and through another door on the right. Lilliana took out a Silver Hand and then needed some more help. Three more charged down from a set of stairs and began attacking. Once they were dead, Lilliana began to loot the room. Oliver followed her to a room in the back. There was two chests. One was locked, one wasn’t.

“This lock is stubborn,” Lilliana said as she broke her fifth lockpick. She broke two more until she finally got the chest open. Inside was a bundle of elven arrows, some gold, and an iron helmet, which was tossed aside.

“You take those arrows,” Aela said to Lilliana as she eyed the bundle of arrows.

“Thanks,” Lilliana replied as she dug around in the other chest. She got two healing potions and a magicka potion. They moved to the upper level and turned left to go down a hall, then took a right.

Inside were two Silver Hand, which were taken out by Lilliana’s arrows. Oliver took a couple healing potions and some gold from the area. Lilliana went to a door, unlocked it, and found a bedroom. She took two more healing potions, gave them to Aela, and some more gold. Then she found a soul gem and gave it to Oliver.

They kept moving, down another hall and then to a door.

“Be careful. We’re getting close,” Aela said as Lilliana reached for the door handle, “Their leader is a tricky one. They call her ‘The Skinner’. I don’t think I need to tell you why.” Once Lilliana had the door open, she pulled an arrow back and shot a Silver Hand through the neck and took another one down as well before they realized what was going on. Oliver ran forward and stabbed another one through the stomach as Aela and Lilliana fired arrows at their leader.

Lilliana and Aela’s arrows weakened their leader, and Oliver finished her off with a slash at her head. Lilliana walked over to her and took her gold and enchanted steel sword. Aela walked over to a dead werewolf and Oliver walked to a chest and looted it of its valuables. He got some more potions, gold, and two enchanted necklaces. He was looking at them when he heard Aela scream.

“The bastards! Somehow they managed to kill Skjor,” Aela growled, “He was one of our strongest, but numbers can overwhelm. He should not have come without a Shield-Brother! Get out of here. I’ll search these corpses for anything useful. Here,” Aela handed Lilliana a piece of paper, “I’ve heard of some Silver Hand hiding out in this fort. Take their plans and assassinate their leader. We will make the Silver Hand tremble at our sight!”

“Come on,” Lilliana said to Oliver as she walked out of the room.

Skjor was dead. Oliver couldn’t believe it.

~~~

Oliver and Lilliana were outside Riften, near a cave. It was called Broken Helm Hollow. They had just killed all the Silver Hand inside and stole their plans.

“That was easy . . .” Lilliana mumbled.

“Yeah, it--“ Oliver started but was interrupted by a roar.

“Oliver, was that--?” Lilliana started.

“A dragon, yes.” Oliver said and unsheathed his sword.

“Now we get to see if I’m Dragonborn!” Lilliana took out her bow. The dragon circled above. Lilliana shot arrows at it, cutting holes in its wings and piercing its skin. It roared in anger and landed. Oliver ran up and hacked at its head while Lilliana’s arrows pierced its neck. Oliver was busy trying to cut at its neck when he heard Lilliana cry out. He looked over to see her on the ground, and her leg was bent in an unusual way.

Oliver finished the dragon off with a stab to the head and ran to Lilliana.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Do I look okay? I think my leg’s broken.”

“Can you feel it?”

“No.” The dragon started to burn and light flew towards Oliver. He backed away to see if it went to Lilliana as well, but he couldn’t tell because of his blurred vision.

“Can you feel that?” he asked.

“Yep. Guess this means I’m Dragonborn.”

“A Dragonborn with a broken leg,” Oliver said.

“You have to make my leg straight again,” Lilliana said, her voice full of pain.

“No, I don’t want to hurt you, or do it wrong or something,” Oliver protested.

“Just do it!” Lilliana snapped.

“All right!” He grabbed Lilliana’s leg and snapped it back into place. She screamed in pain.

“Thanks!” Tears streamed down her face, although her smile said she was being strong.

“I’m sorry that happened . . .” Oliver said, still kneeling down by Lilliana.

“It’s ok. I wasn’t expecting him to swing his tail at me.” Lilliana said.

“Well, at least we know now. Can you walk?” Oliver asked as Lilliana did all the healing magic she could on her leg.

“Probably not,” Lilliana said and grabbed Oliver’s hand. He helped her up.

“Ow, I can’t put any weight on it,” Lilliana said as she grabbed onto Oliver’s shoulder for support.

“So, there’s only one thing we can do, then,” Oliver said.

“What are you talking--“ Lilliana started but was silenced when Oliver picked the girl up bridal style, getting a surprised squeak in response.

“I’m taking you to Riften, then to the temple,” Oliver said.

“Why can we not just hire a carriage to Whiterun?” Lilliana asked.

“You’re in no condition to travel!”

“We’ll be in a carriage! I’ll be fine! C’mon, please? I want to go back to Whiterun.”

“Okay, fine,” Oliver said. When she begged, she usually got her way.

Oliver carried Lilliana back to Riften and into the Temple of Mara. Dinya seemed happy at the girl’s arrival.

“Lilliana, when you ran off like that, I was worried sick! I’m glad you sent me that letter. What happened?” Dinya asked when she saw her leg.

“Dragon attack. It slashed me with its tail and I fell. I broke my leg,” Lilliana said.

“Heal it enough so she can travel. We need to get to back to Whiterun soon,” Oliver said and sat Lilliana down on the same bed she sat on when he brought her back from Cragslane Cavern.

Dinya moved in and healed Lilliana’s leg quickly and bandaged it up. She told her not to walk on it if she could help it for a few days. Dinya seemed reluctant to let Lilliana go back to Whiterun on her leg, but once Lilliana said she was taking a carriage to Whiterun, Dinya let her go.

“You’re heavy,” Oliver said to Lilliana as he put her in the carriage.

“That’s because of my pack and weapons.”

“So you’re trying to convince yourself you’re not fat?”

“Shut up!” Lilliana lightly punched Oliver’s shoulder as the carriage started moving.

~~~

“You’re back! Oh, what happened to Lilly?” Ria asked from the table.

“A dragon broke my leg,” Lilliana answered.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“I’m fine. Just can’t walk for a couple days,” Lilliana answered. Oliver walked her down to the living quarters and sat her on her bed. “Thanks for carrying me.”

“No problem. I’m going to do another job for Aela tomorrow. Don’t do anything that can hurt your leg while I’m gone.”

Lilliana’s face flashed an expression of sadness, but was soon replaced with cheerfulness once again.

“Okay. Be careful,” Lilliana said with a smile.

~~~

“Going alone this time, huh?” Aela asked in a melancholy tone that next morning. She had mostly kept to herself since Skjor died. She was even too grief-stricken to attend his funeral.

“Yeah. Give me something I can get through quickly so I can be back for Lilly,” Oliver said to Aela. She nodded and handed him a piece of paper after digging around in a pile for a minute.  

“Some Silver Hand have been hanging around this cave. Clear it out and take anything we can use,” Aela commanded. Oliver nodded and walked out of the room.

When Oliver passed the whelp’s quarters, he peeked in on Lilliana. She was still asleep, with her leg propped up on a pillow. She seemed at peace, so Oliver continued up the stairs to the main hall. Everyone else was awake.

“How’s Lilly?” Farkas asked.

“Asleep, and good,” Oliver replied. He liked that everyone cared about Lilliana. He figured that Lilliana liked that she now had a family again.

“Good.” Farkas smiled.

“I’ll be gone for a few days. I have to clear out a bandit den north of Falkreath,” Oliver said. Farkas nodded and Oliver walked out the door.

~~~

Four days later, Lilliana started to grow restless. Her leg no longer hurt, and she was able to walk a bit on it.

Huffing, she stood up, put on her boots, grabbed her bow, and walked to the door that led upstairs. She had not walked up the stairs on her own yet, but she was sure she could do it. Lilliana took a step with her good leg. So far, so good. She took a step with her wounded leg, and pain shot up it.

Lilliana fell to the floor and crawled the rest of the way up the stairs.

“Lilly?” asked an unknown voice, “What are you doing?”

Lilliana looked up and saw Oliver walking over to her. She grabbed the hand he offered her and stood up.

“I got bored and was going to go shoot at a target outside,” Lilliana said.

“You should have stayed there until your leg was better!” Oliver said.

“I’m tired of being down there!”

“Well, you should have told someone to bring you a book or something!” Oliver said.

“I’ve read every book Kodlak and Vilkas have! And why are you worrying so much anyway?” Lilliana asked. Neither of them noticed that the whole hall was watching them.

“What? So now I can’t even care about you?”

“You can care, but don’t try to help me with every little thing I do!” Lilliana turned and walked to the training yard, limping with as much pride as she could muster.

~~~

“You wanted to see us, Kodlak?” Lilliana asked and limped into the Harbinger’s room. Oliver followed.

“I did. Take a seat.” Kodlak gestured to the two chairs in front of him. Oliver and Lilliana sat down, and Lilliana adjusted her leg to a more comfortable position.

“How’s your leg, girl?” Kodlak asked.

“Getting better,” Lilliana answered.

“Good. I understand you have been busy lately.”

“Aela, Lilly and I work to avenge Skjor’s death,” Oliver replied.

“Your hearts are full of grief, and my own weeps at the loss of Skjor,” Kodlak sighed, but then got stern, “But his death was avenged long ago. You have taken more lives than honor demanded. Anyway, I have a task for you.”

“What is it?” Lilliana asked.

“Have you heard the story of how we came to be werewolves?” Kodlak asked.

“Skjor said it was a blessing from Hircine,” Oliver answered.

“Aye that sounds like him,” Kodlak said, “The truth is much more complicated, though. The Companions are nearly five thousand years old. The matter of beastblood has troubled us for only a few hundred. One of my predecessors was a good, but short-sighted man. He struck a deal with the witches of the Glenmoril Coven. If the Companions would hunt in the name of their lord, Hircine, they would become much stronger.”

“And they became werewolves?” Lilliana asked.

“They did not believe the change would be permanent, but they were deceived,” Kodlak explained.

“But aren’t you more powerful now?” Lilliana continued.

“The witches didn’t lie, of course. They required payment, like anyone else. But it affects more than our bodies; it seeps into the soul. Upon death, werewolves are taken by Hircine to his Hunting Grounds. For some, this is paradise. They want nothing more than to chase prey with their master for eternity. That is their choice; but I am still a true Nord, and I want Sovngarde to be my sprit home.”

“Is there a cure?” Lilliana asked.

“That’s what I’ve spent my twilight years trying to figure out. The witch’s magic ensnared us, so it can also make us free of this curse. Go to their coven in the wilderness. They will not give their magic willingly, so you will have to use force. Bring me their heads. From there, we will be able to undo centuries of impurity.”

“You go get our things. I want to talk to Kodlak,” Oliver said to Lilliana.

“All right,” Lilliana said, understanding. She stood and limped out of the room, closing the door behind her.

“I’m sorry if I have disappointed you, grandfather . . .” Oliver said in a low voice to Kodlak.

“You will never disappoint me, my son.”

“Thank you . . . So did Lilly really read all your books?” Oliver asked.

“Every single one of them,” Kodlak said with a smile, “You be careful around those witches. Their magic is not something to be taken lightly.”

“I’ll make sure to come out of that cave alive,” Oliver assured.

“I know you’ll be able to. I know we’ve only been reunited for a couple months, but I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you. I’m glad I was able to find my grandfather.”

“I’m glad, too.”

~~~

**All right, this was mostly a moving from point A to point B chapter, but there was some info in there, too. Most of you guys probably saw the “Lilliana Dragonborn” thing coming, so that probably wasn’t a big shocker. Remember to review/follow/fav this story!**

**-Rayne :)**


	7. Fall of the Silver Hand

“How’s your leg?” Oliver asked. He and Lilliana had taken a carriage to Falkreath and were walking to the Glenmoril Coven on foot. Lilliana still walked with a slight limp.

“For the millionth time, I’m fine! Quit asking every five minutes!” Lilliana snapped.

“Sorry . . .” Oliver mumbled. _She’s a bit snappier today,_ Oliver thought, _she must be having her monthly bleeding._

“It’s okay. You’re just concerned . . .” Lilliana said, half to herself.

“I think I see the cave,” Oliver announced when they reached some unusual objects: taproots handing from trees, severed goat heads, and mounted skeever heads. They meant one thing: witches or hagravens are around.

“Aye, that’s it,” Lilliana said and put her map back in her pack. She replaced it with her bow.

“Ready?” Oliver asked.

“Ready. You know the drill,” Lilliana said and took the lead. She led into the cave, and found a chest in an alcove before a tunnel. She took the loot and continued. “Frostbite spider and hagraven up ahead. I’m guessing the hagraven is a witch,” Lilliana whispered. Oliver nodded.

Lilliana pulled back her bowstring, aimed, and aimed for the witch’s head. It landed in its arm. The witch screeched and shot a fire spell in Oliver and Lilliana’s direction. The fireball hit the wall just behind them, getting a quiet scream from Lilliana. She fired another arrow into the witch’s neck. A cry gurgled from its lips and it fell to the ground.

The small frostbite spider, now alerted of their presence, spit poison at them. Oliver ran up and hacked at it with his sword.

“Will you get the heads?” Lilliana asked and handed Oliver a bag.

“Sure. We need to kill at least three more of these things. We’re in luck; looks like there’s three more tunnel,” Oliver said, “Farkas and Vilkas want to be cured, and you told me you wanted to, too.”

“What about you?” Lilliana asked.

“If we can’t find a fourth head for me, oh well. I’m letting you use the last one, so you can see your mother in Sovngarde, and your father, too.”

“Oh, well, that’s nice,” Lilliana mumbled, almost tearing up at the thought of her mother.

“Don’t mention it. I don’t have anyone that I want to see in Sovngarde.”

“What about your father?” Lilliana asked curiously.

“He was a skooma addict, and most of the reason I grew up in Cyrodiil, where I did _not_ want to be, fatherless, and grandfather-less,” Oliver said, voice full of hate.

“What about the man your mother married in Cyrodiil?”

“He treated me like dirt. My mother gave all her time to him, keeping him happy. Their maid pretty much raised me.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Must have been a lonely childhood,” Lilliana apologized.

“It’s okay. Now, let’s deal with these witches,” Oliver said and started to walk down the first tunnel. Lilliana nodded and took the lead.

Once at the end of the tunnel, Lilliana began firing arrows at the witch, weakening it before Oliver had to run up and cut it down. He failed to notice the frostbite spider Lilliana was firing at behind him. He turned and got a face full of poison.

An arrow whizzed by and killed the spider.

“Are you okay?” Lilliana ran up to him.

“Not really,” Oliver mumbled. His face started to swell. Lilliana held up a glowing hand to his cheek, stopping the poison.

“Drink these,” Lilliana ordered, handing Oliver three bottles labeled “cure poison”, “health”, and “stamina”, written in Lilliana’s handwriting.

“Did you make these?” Oliver asked, uncorking the cure poison bottle.

“Aye. I guess I inherited my mother’s alchemy skill,” Lilliana said, voice full of pride.

“They taste bad,” Oliver said, teasing her.

“So? They’re gonna taste bad; nothing I can do about that,” Lilliana said smoothly.

“C’mon,” Oliver said light-heartedly. Lilliana huffed and followed him to another tunnel after he got the head from the witch. They continued to do the same thing until they got two more heads, and couldn’t find any other tunnels.

“I’m tired,” Lilliana complained as they walked to the Falkreath Inn, Dead Man’s Drink.

“Me too.”

“Don’t you think it’s cool how the town’s shops kinda go along with the big cemetery? Dead Man’s Drink? Grave Concoctions? I like it,” Lilliana asked.

“I really don’t care,” Oliver said truthfully.

“Well, I like it,” Lilliana said as she opened the door to the inn. Their innkeeper, Valga, immediately came over to them.

“Can I get ya somethin’? Food, drink, bed?” she asked eagerly. Falkreath was a small town with few visitors, so she must have been excited that someone new came into her inn.

“Two rooms, please.” Lilliana handed her a coinpurse containing twenty septims. Valga nodded and headed to the counter, and grabbed two keys.

“Yours, and yours,” She said, handing Lilliana and Oliver a key. She motioned to their rooms as she did.

“Thank you,” Oliver said to the woman as he began to walk to his room. She nodded a response and returned to her counter.

“What do you want to eat?” Lilliana asked Oliver as she walked to her room as well.

“You know I don’t care. I have been wanting some chicken lately, though,” Oliver responded.

“I like chicken.” Lilliana mumbled to herself as she walked to the counter.

Oliver watched as she ordered their food before going into his room and put his things on the table. He stripped of his armor as well and changed into some simple leather pants and a cotton shirt. He walked out of the room to see Lilliana bringing two mugs to a table.

“What did you get us?” Oliver asked when he got to Lilliana.

“I told Valga to give us something with chicken in it. She said she had something perfect in mind. Then I got us some ale. I don’t feel like getting too much alcohol in me tonight,” Lilliana explained after sitting the mugs on the table.

“Sounds good to me,” Oliver said. Lilliana nodded.

“I’m going to go change into something else,” She stated before walking to her room.

A minute later, their food arrived. On Oliver’s plate was chicken, a slice of bread, goat cheese, grilled leeks, and a sweetroll. The same went for Lilliana’s plate.

Oliver sat and looked at his plate, not sure if he should begin eating without Lilliana. After looking at his plate for a minute, Lilliana emerged from her room and walked over to Oliver, wearing a blue dress with a brown vest.

“Haven’t worn a dress in a while. Didn’t feel like wearing pants,” Lilliana mumbled half to herself as she sat down.

“The only time I’ve seen you in a dress was when I brought you to Riften. You were wearing that same one,” Oliver said and grabbed his fork off the table. They ate in silence, for they were too busy filling their stomachs.

~~~

The city of Whiterun seemed different when they walked in. Most of the people in the market seemed scared . . . or something like scared. It filled the area with a tight mood. Oliver knew something had happened.

He and Lilliana knew what happened as soon as they walked up the steps to Jorrvaskr. Three Silver Hand lay dead in front of Aela and Torvar, who were standing in front of Jorrvaskr with their weapons drawn.

“The Silver Hand. They finally worked up the nerve to attack Jorrvaskr. We got most of them, but some made it out alive. Go on inside,” Torvar said.

Oliver and Lilliana walked inside Jorrvaskr and the sight before them made them stop in their tracks. Multiple Silver Hand were sprawled across the floor. Blood stained the rugs, and the table was a mess. Lilliana noticed that Athis was curled up in a corner of the hall, being tended to by Ria.

Vilkas stormed up to them. “ _Where_ have you been?” he asked harshly.

“We were doing something for Kodlak,” Lilliana said shakily, clamming up under Vilkas’s glare.

“Well, I hope it was important, because it means you weren’t here to defend him!” Vilkas almost screamed at them.

“Leave them alone, Vilkas! They couldn’t help it!” Farkas said from behind Vilkas, extreme hurt in his voice.

“Was anyone hurt?” Lilliana asked.

“Athis got a nasty cut to his side, but the old man . . . Kodlak . . .” Vilkas’s voice broke, “He’s dead.”

“No,” Oliver whispered with a blank expression.

Lilliana’s eyes watered, but her face stayed at its blank expression. She refused to cry. She walked behind Vilkas, stopped and sharply sucked in a breath. Kodlak was laying on the floor in front of them. Farkas was sitting cross-legged beside Kodlak, looking down at his body with a hurt emotion. Njada was leaning over the body, looking at it as well. Lilliana looked over at Oliver. He was staring at the body with a blank emotion as well.

“Are you okay?” she asked him softly. He didn’t answer, turned, and walked right out the door. Lilliana thought to give him some space. She could not look at the body anymore, and walked out the back doors to the training yard.

Because she was a werewolf, Lilliana had heightened senses, and could smell Oliver’s sent nearby. She made a mental note to make sure he didn’t get to far away, and if he did, shadow him to make sure he didn’t get hurt while, Lilliana assumed, his mind was clouded with sadness.

Lilliana didn’t know where else to go, so she went to the Underforge and headed for the secret exit to the plains of Whiterun. She walked through the tunnel and turned to exit, but heard a noise behind her. She turned and saw Oliver in a corner, sitting with his knees hugged up to his chest.

“. . . Do you want to be alone?” Lilliana asked gently. Oliver looked up at her, eyes filled with unshed tears. For a moment, he hesitated, then looked down and shook his head.

Lilliana walked over and sat down beside Oliver. She didn’t know what to do, so she just looked at him, hoping he would give her a sign. She could smell his sadness, coming off his in waves, strong waves.

“I just found him, and now, he dies? Why are the Divines being cruel to me? What did I do?” Oliver asked in an outburst, a few tears escaping his eyes.

“Oliver, everything happens for a reason. I’m sure the Gods have something to compensate for it! They gave us the gift of being Dragonborn, after all!” Lilliana said. She hated that she was not good with these things. She was surprised that Oliver was crying, but she knew this was his moment of weakness.

“I know, but being Dragonborn is more of a curse than a blessing!”

“There has to be some silver lining in this black cloud!” Lilliana mumbled.

Oliver looked up at her.

“What?” Lilliana asked. Oliver gave the smallest smile he had ever given, but to Lilliana, it was a victory.

“I’ve never heard anyone say that before,” He said.

“Now you have.” Lilliana smiled.

~~~

“We’re going to go to their head camp, wipe them out, and get the fragments back!” Vilkas explained to Oliver and Lilliana the next day. Lilliana had stayed with Oliver the late hours of the night. Oliver had cried, and Lilliana lent her shoulder gratefully. She knew he would have to be there for her someday.

“When do we leave?” Oliver asked in a melancholy tone.

“Anytime you want,” Vilkas said.

“We leave now,” Oliver said and stood.

“I’m going to get my things,” Lilliana said, also in a melancholy tone, and walked down to the living quarters. She grabbed both her and Oliver’s packs, already packed, and walked back up in little time. Oliver and Vilkas were waiting by the doors.

“We’re going to Driftshade Refuge, south of Dawnstar,” Vilkas said. With that, they walked out the doors, to an equally melancholy Whiterun.

~~~

The area around Driftshade was cold and snowy. Both Oliver and Vilkas were quiet on the trip there, with Oliver having lost his grandfather, and Vilkas losing his father-figure. Lilliana had to talk to herself.

Two Silver Hand archers were standing guard outside the fort. Lilliana shot one down, but alerted the other. Vilkas took care of the other with his sword. Once inside, Oliver and Vilkas ran ahead, hacking and slashing at every Silver Hand they saw. Lilliana followed, acting as their back-up. She could smell their rage, coming out in one strong wave, getting stronger each time they struck down a Silver Hand. Lilliana didn’t even have to shoot her bow once. She didn’t even think about drawing her blade.

“Guys, before we go in there, don’t you think you might want me to shoot a couple down before we have the final battle, to make it easier?” Lilliana asked before they entered the final room. Oliver and Vilkas turned to Lilliana in a jerky fashion. Looking closer, she noticed their eyes were yellow, and the smell of beastblood was stronger. “Go ahead,” She quickly corrected.

Oliver and Vilkas ran into the room. The Silver Hand were quickly alerted of their presence. Lilliana stayed behind, out of the action, bow ready in her hands in case she needed to shoot. The two men quickly killed the four Silver Hand in their beast-like rage, making short work of them all.

While Oliver and Vilkas were calming down from their rage, Lilliana got the shards of Wuuthrad and put them in her pack. She turned to the two men to see them both breathing heavily and looking at each other.

“You’re not a bad fighter,” Vilkas said between breaths.

“You’re not a bad fighter yourself,” Oliver replied.

“Okay. We’ve figured out that we’re all pretty good fighters. Now can we get back to Whiterun? I’m not fond of this snow,” Lilliana asked.

“You’re a Nord, right?” Vilkas asked.

“I am, but I still don’t like the snow,” Lilliana replied.

“Let’s go,” Oliver said stiffly. They began to walk to Whiterun.

~~~

“The others have probably prepared Kodlak’s funeral by now. Come up to the Skyforge to pay your respects,” Vilkas said when they walked through the gates of Whiterun. Oliver nodded.

“All right.” Lilliana said. They began to walk to the Skyforge.

When they got there, Lilliana saw that the Skyforge was decorated for the event. Banners with Wuuthrad on it were hung, and a pyre was built over the Skyforge with Kodlak’s body on top of it. Many people were there, even the Jarl, and the town healer, Danica Pure-Spring. Once everyone was there, the ceremony started.

“Before the ancient flame,” Aela started.

“We grieve,” Answered the rest.

“At this loss,” Eorlund started.

“We weep.”

“For the fallen,” Vilkas said.

“We shout.”

“And for ourselves,” Farkas said.

“We take our leave.”

Aela walked forward to the pyre, torch in hand, and lit it. “His soul is departed. Members of the Circle, let us withdraw to the Underforge, so we can grieve our loss together,” She said. People began to file out, down the steps of the forge. After everyone had left, Oliver and Lilliana were the only ones there, aside from Eorlund; he was always there. Oliver was looking at Kodlak’s body, sadness apparent on his face. Lilliana was digging around in her pack, looking for the bag with the fragments in it. After she found it, she fished it out.

“You have the fragments?” Eorlund asked.

“I do,” Lilliana said and held up the bag. Eorlund took them.

“I need to prepare them for mounting again. This is the first time we’ve had all the pieces since, forever, really. There was one piece Kodlak kept close to him though, and I don’t think I’m the one to go through his things. Would you mind getting it for me?” Eorlund asked.

“Not at all,” Lilliana said and turned to Oliver, “Do you want to, or is it okay for me to get it?” she asked him in a low voice.

“Go ahead, I just want to stay here for a minute.”

“I understand,” Lilliana said to him. As she was walking to the steps, Eorlund pulled her aside.

“He’s related to Kodlak, isn’t he?” he asked in a low voice.

“How did you know?” Lilliana asked.

“He has his eyes, and looks just like Kodlak when he was his age.”

“He’s his grandson.”

“His heart must ache,” Eorlund said.

“It does,” Lilliana answered. Eorlund nodded and followed her down the steps, most likely to give Oliver some time to himself.

Lilliana entered Jorrvaskr and walked down to the living quarters. She wasn’t sure if she was the one to go through Kodlak’s things, but the task was set upon her, so she had to do it. The ante-chamber of the Harbinger’s room looked the same as it always did, like Kodlak wasn’t gone at all, but Lilliana knew better than to think such things.

Once she entered Kodlak’s room, she wasn’t sure where to look, but she was pulled to a table by the bed. She pulled out a drawer and found a journal, with the fragment tucked in between some of the pages. Lilliana wanted to read the journal, but decided against it. Try as she might, her curiosity was pulled in when she spotted her name on one of the pages. She turned to the first page and began reading.

_In my dream, I see the line of Harbingers start with Ysgramor. Each of them ascends to Sovngarde, until we come to Terrfyg, who first turned us to the ways of the beast. He tries to enter Sovngarde, but before he can even approach Tsun, he is set upon by a great wolf, who pulls him into the Hunting Grounds, where Hircine laughs with welcoming arms._

_Terrfyg seems regretful, but also eager to join Hircine after a lifetime of service as a beast._

_Then I see every next Harbinger turn away from Sovngarde and enter the Hunting Grounds of their own accord. Until it comes to me, and I see great Tsun on the misty horizon, beckoning me. It appears I have a choice. And then, at my side, a stranger that looked vaguely familiar stood there. As I look into his eyes, we turn to see the same wolf who dragged away Terrfyg, and he and I draw our blades together._

_I realize this is only a dream, but a strong enough dream to inspire a man like me to take to writing, so it must be of some import._

Lilliana turned the page.

_Fortune smiles upon us. Yesterday, Vilkas was telling me how difficult it had been for him to give up his transformations. Until we can pursue a true cure, the twins and I have chosen to not give in to the beastblood. For me, it’s provided a clearer head, but Vilkas seems to be suffering a bit for it. Farkas seems completely untroubled. That boy continues to amaze with his fortitude._

_While Vilkas was confiding, through the shadows of Jorrvaskr, I saw a newcomer approach, who wished to join our numbers. It was the stranger from my dream, the one who would stand with me against the beast. Vilkas began speaking obliquely, not wishing to air our problems in front of our guest, and I had to be doubly cautious to not reveal anything of our secrets to the newcomer while also not revealing the details of my dream to Vilkas. I don’t know how the politicians deal with these sorts of machinations daily._

_In any case, I’ve sent Vilkas to test the newcomer. We’ll see if he is truly the great warrior I dreamt of._

_I couldn’t help but to notice his eyes looked very much like a pair I had seen long ago. Whose eyes those were, I cannot put my finger on it . . ._

Again, Lilliana turned the page.

_It seems that this newcomer, who calls himself Oliver Storm-Cloud, is the Dragonborn. While returning from his first job for us, he killed a dragon by the western watchtower and absorbed its soul. Later, he was summoned by the Greybeards, and went to High Hrothgar. Meanwhile, a girl by the name of Lilliana came to us. She was the girl Oliver rescued from a bandit den on his job in Riften. She wished to join our ranks as well. Most were against it, but by the way she argued back, I could see her fire. I allowed her to join and instructed Farkas to give her a job._

_I have begun to suspect that Oliver could be my grandson that was taken away by Amelia to Cyrodiil all those years ago. I will make sure to speak with him the next chance I get._

On the next page,

_Both Oliver and Lilliana, it seems, are made of decent stock, and have already impressed the Circle with their mettle. I still keep my own counsel on Oliver’s place in my dream, for now. Let us see what kind of destiny he is carving before hitching to him._

_After his and Lilliana’s induction into the Circle, I pulled Oliver aside and spoke to him. I questioned him on his mother, and found out that my thoughts were correct. His mother is Amelia! It appears he did not forget what he told me all those years ago on the day his mother took him away. “Don’t worry, Grandpa, I’ll be back to become the Harbinger!”_

_I asked him about Lilliana as well. I’ve seen the way he looks at her. It was the same way I looked at Oliver’s grandmother. I believe the boy has an infatuation with her, as many of the men of Whiterun do. I can see how it would be hard to not be attracted to the girl. She is quite the beauty. He did not give me a straight answer, but I know the boy likes her. I’m sure they will come around, in time._

_In the meanwhile, I look for ways of cleansing my blood. The writings and legends on the subject are sparse and contradictory. I don’t wish to engage any wizardry on this matter, but I fear they may be the only ones who best know how to navigate these worlds of knowledge._

_It’s apparent to me now that Terrfyg’s choice to turn us was indeed a mistake. Magics and their ilk are not in keeping with the spirit of the Companions. We face our problems directly, without the needs of such trickery. I can only hope to guide us back to the true path of Ysgramor before the rot takes me._

Lilliana, intrigued by the words she was reading, turned the page again.

_Oliver continues to impress. I don’t know where he will stand on the question of the blood, but the question has not been presented yet. He does know that we carry the beastblood, and appears curious about it. Soon enough, I can explain our troubles, and hopefully see what role he will play._

_I’m amazed that Aela thinks she can keep a secret among this drunken rabble. Especially with the loss of Skjor (my heart aches), emotions are fraying, and the walls of discretion are the first to fall._

_Apparently she, Oliver, and Lilliana are waging their own separate war against the Silver Hand, in retaliation for Skjor’s death. Their hearts are noble, but the course of vengeance is running hot, and I fear the counterstroke that may come if they do not rein in their fury._

_Oliver shows valor, though, even in this more underhanded time. We have not had the cause to speak much, and that is something I deeply regret. I have high hopes for his destiny, as I realized that his appearance in my dream may indeed mark him as the next Harbinger to succeed me._

_I have received few dreams over the course of my life, but when they come, I have learned to trust them. I have also learned to trust the instincts of my heart, which tells me that Oliver can carry the Companions legacy as truly as any residing in Jorrvaskr, especially with the loss of Skjor. Aela is too solitary, Vilkas too fiery, Farkas too kind-hearted, and Lilliana too naïve. The girl could very well lead the Companions, but she seems more like a follower instead of a leader._

_Only Oliver stands as a true warrior who can keep a still mind amidst these burning hearts._

_I will not speak to him of any of this, though. It is too much to burden another with. My hope is that he and I can keep counsel over the coming years, that I can impact the wisdom of the Harbingers. Not to mention I would love to see my one and only grandson grow in strength as well as knowledge. All things in time. Firstly, I will seek his and Lilliana’s assistance (seeing she and Oliver work better as a pair) in the matter of the witches of Glenmoril. It would appear that our path to the cure is not without some poetic justice for the tricksters who first cursed us._

Lilliana closed the book and put it back in the bedside table. Knowing what Kodlak thought overwhelmed her a bit. After thinking, she decided not to tell anyone about what she read unless it was absolutely necessary. Taking the fragment, she walked out of the room.

Oliver was no longer standing before the Skyforge, and Eorlund was gazing at the burning body that belonged to Kodlak when Lilliana arrived.

“Here’s the fragment,” Lilliana said and handed the fragment to Eorlund. He took it.

“Thank you. I believe your shield-siblings are waiting for you in the Underforge.”

“All right.” Lilliana walked down the stairs and to the secret entrance to the Underforge. She opened the door and stepped inside to find the Circle in the middle of an argument.

“Being moon-born is not so much of a curse as you may think, Vilkas,” Aela said.

“The old-man had one wish before he died, and he didn’t get it. It’s as simple as that,” Vilkas snapped. At those words, Lilliana realized she had failed her Harbinger, her oath as a Companion, but most of all, she failed. Kodlak had gone to Hircine’s Hunting Grounds. He couldn’t go to Sovngarde because of her. It was her fault.

All the tears she had been storing since Kodlak’s death came out right then and there, in the Underforge, in front of everyone. Quietly crying, she fell to her knees. No one had noticed her come in, and no one noticed her crying then.

“Kodlak didn’t- Lilly?” she heard Farkas say. The four other Circle members rushed towards Lilliana.

“What’s wrong?” Aela asked.

“I failed! Kodlak told me to go get the witches’ heads so we could cure him, but I didn’t get back on time! Kodlak didn’t get his wish!” Lilliana said between breaths.

“It’s not your fault, it’s all of our faults!” Vilkas said, not sure how to console the crying girl in front of him.

“But I failed!” Lilliana cried. Then, Oliver grabbed her and pulled her into his embrace. With that, she started sobbing, hard and loud. The sounds of her crying echoed in the Underforge. Oliver held her and let her cry on his shoulder. Aela rubbed her shoulder in a comforting sense, and Farkas and Vilkas just looked with sad faces.

“Just let her let it out. She doesn’t need to go to Ysgramor’s tomb with her thoughts clouded with her sadness,” Aela said.

“So you agree to go cure Kodlak?” Vilkas asked.

“Seeing how important our shield-sister here thinks it is, and how much Kodlak wanted it, yes, I agree.”

Knowing that she just helped Kodlak get his wish, somehow, just made Lilliana sob harder.

~~~

**A/N: If you skipped Kodlak’s journal, I really suggest you go back and read it. If you have read it in-game, I still say you should go read it. I added my own touches to it, so I recommend you go read it if you didn’t.  Ok, I know that was a REALLY long chapter, but Kodlak’s journal took up like three pages by itself. We all know what happens in the next chapter: They cure Kodlak. Anyway, writing this chapter actually made me tear up, almost cry, and I don’t cry. How about you guys? Make any of you tear up? I WANNA KNOW HOW YOU GUYS ARE REACTING TO THIS, OKAY?**

**Anyway… Reviews are REALLY good… Just reminding ya…**

**-Rayne :)**

 


	8. Cleansing of the Companions

**All right you guys, there’s a THING coming up! Lilliana and Oliver FINALLY get together in this chapter! BUT there’s another shocking thing coming up, and I don’t think ANY of you will see it coming!**

**I CAN’T WAIT FOR THE REACTIONS!**

**-Rayne**

~~~

The five Circle members traveled to the tomb of Ysgramor, Oliver carrying Wuuthrad on his back. It had been reforged and given Oliver to take to Ysgramor’s tomb. Once they reached the tomb, a statue of Ysgramor greeted them.

“Put it in his hands?” Lilliana asked.

“All right,” Oliver said and slid the legendary weapon into its place, making a stone door in front of them slide into the floor.

“C’mon,” Aela ordered and walked through the doorway.

“This is the resting place of Ysgramor and his most trusted generals. You should be cautious,” Vilkas said.

“Are you not coming?” Lilliana asked.

“Kodlak was right. I let vengeance rule my heart. I can’t go any farther with my mind fogged with grief,” Vilkas answered.

“You’re coming with us to help cure Kodlak. You want to help give him his wish, right?” Oliver asked.

“I agree with Oliver,” Lilliana stated.

“Fine,” Vilkas huffed. The five Companions walked through the door and were immediately attacked by two skeevers. They took care of them and continued on to a door. Before they could open it, though, they were attacked by three ghosts. The ghosts were taken down easy enough by the five warriors.

On the other side of the door was a room that held five ghosts, which served as a slightly bigger threat to the five warriors. Aela got a cut on her arm, but other than that, there were no injuries.

They all went through a doorway and down some steps to a room with water in the middle of it. There, they encountered five more ghosts. Aela and Lilliana fired arrows at the ones farther away, while Farkas, Vilkas, and Oliver hacked at the closer ones with their greatswords. They walked on through the room and came to what looked like a frostbite spider den.

“I can’t go any further,” Farkas stated.

“What’s the matter?” Vilkas asked.

“Ever since Dustman’s Cairn, the big crawly ones have been getting to me. Everyone has his weakness, and this one is mine. I will stay back. Give my regards to Ysgramor.”

“How about we clear it out and then you can continue on?” Lilliana asked.

“Okay . . .” Farkas said, still unsure. The rest continued on while Farkas stayed back. Four small frostbite spiders awaited them after Oliver cut the webs down from the doorway. They easily took them down. In another chamber, two small frostbite spiders and one giant one waited for them. Aela and Lilliana fired arrows at the giant one while Vilkas and Oliver took care of the little ones.

“All right Farkas, it’s good now!” Vilkas shouted through the door. After a minute, Farkas came walking in. Lilliana pulled the chain to lift the gate into the other chamber and walked in.

Three ghost Companions awaited them on the other side. Like usual, Aela and Lilliana fired arrows while the others attacked with their swords. They did this until they reached the main chamber, where they walked into a giant room with a blue flame in the center. A ghost was warming his hands over the flames.

Oliver then took the lead and walked up to the ghost. It was Kodlak.

“Greetings, shield-siblings,” He said.

“Kodlak?” Farkas asked.

“Of course. My fellow Harbingers and I have been here warming ourselves, trying to evade Hircine.”

“But there’s nobody else here,” Lilliana stated.

“You see only me because you know only me as the Harbinger of the Companions. I’d wager old Vignar could see half a dozen of my predecessors. I see them all, the ones in Sovngarde, the ones trapped in Hircine’s realm, and they all see you. You have brought glory and honor to the Companions, and we won’t soon forget it.”

“Vilkas said you can still be cured,” Oliver said.

“Did he now? I can only hope. You still have the witches’ heads? Excellent! Throw one of their heads into the fire. It will release their magic, for me, at least.” Oliver then took out a head, wrinkling his nose at the smell, and threw it into the blue flame.

Kodlak’s ghost doubled over in pain and a red wolf spirit came out of him. It was gigantic. It snarled at the Companions. All of them lunged forward and attacked.

After defeating the wolf, Oliver walked back over to Kodlak.

“I thank you for this gift,” Kodlak’s ghost said, “The other Harbingers remain trapped in Hircine’s realm, though. Perhaps the Heroes of Old will join me in the fight for the other Harbingers. The Harrowing of the Hunting Grounds. It will be a fight to remember. Perhaps you will one day join us. But for now, return to Jorrvaskr, and lead the Companions to further glory. And remember, my boy, I’m proud of you.”

And with that, Kodlak disappeared.

“Did I hear that right?” Aela asked.

“Did he say you were to lead the Companions?” Vilkas asked.

“He did,” Oliver said, his voice faraway.

“You deserve it. Your honor and valor have shown so. I am honored to be the first to address you as Harbinger.” Aela smiled.

“Thank you, Aela,” Oliver said and walked over to the blue flame again, “Whoever wants to cure themselves, come on!”

One by one, Lilliana, Farkas, and Vilkas cured themselves. There were no more heads.

“Are you sure you’re okay with not being able to cure yourself?” Lilliana asked Oliver as they walked up the spiral staircase to the entry chamber.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me,” Oliver assured and walked up to a chest and pulled out a shield. It had strange carvings on it and glowed with an enchantment.

“That’s the Shield of Ysgramor. I bet he’d want you to have it,” Vilkas said.

“I’m glad to take it.” Oliver smiled and strapped the shield to his back.

“Let’s take Wuuthrad back with us. We can put it on display and it’ll keep bandits from making their home in here,” Lilliana suggested.

“Good idea.” Oliver grabbed Wuuthrad once they reached the statue.

“Yay, now we get to walk in the snow again!” Lilliana said sarcastically.

Oliver just laughed.

~~~

The rest of the Companions reacted to Oliver’s position in a good way. Ria was excited about it; the girl was excited about _everything_ it seemed. Njada still questioned why Oliver was there in the first place. Athis agreed, and Torvar just went along with it and declared that they should celebrate. Oliver didn’t refuse.

Tilma scurried around, making preparations. She, too, was happy for Oliver. Ria followed eagerly, helping with anything she could. Torvar sat at his usual table, nursing a bottle of mead. The Circle, though, retired to their rooms for the time being, tired from their journey.

Oliver found a tub in the Harbinger’s, no, _his_ room now, that was being filled by Tilma. The woman never ceased to amaze him, looking so old and frail, but being able to handle the warriors of Jorrvaskr like it was nothing. Oliver believed that most of them were scared of making the woman mad, and stayed out of her way mostly.

“Thank you, Tilma,” Oliver said kindly to the woman. She nodded with a smile, walked out, and closed the door behind her. Oliver took off his armor, piece by piece, and laid them on his bed. He noticed that the pieces were dirty, and thought to clean them later.

He stepped into the tub, and sighed at the feel of the warm water. A warm bath was uncommon in Skyrim, and being able to have one was a blessing in disguise. Back in Cyrodiil, living in a noble’s home, Oliver was able to have a warm bath every day, along with running water. In Skyrim, as far as Oliver knew, only Markarth and Solitude had running water. Markarth had it because of the Dwarven plumbing, and Solitude had it because it was the capital of Skyrim, and the city had many Nord aspects along with Imperial aspects, the running water of Cyrodiil being one of them.

Oliver grabbed the cloth and began to clean himself, washing the dirt, dried blood, and any other grime from his body, turning the water a murky brown color. Oliver also scrubbed lavender scented bathing oil into his hair, cleaning it as well and filling the room with a nice smell. Once he was through, he stood and let the water run down him in droplets until most of it had run off him, then grabbed a towel from his table and began to dry off.

When he was dry, Oliver put on a simple linen shirt and leather pants. Running his fingers through his now damp hair, untangling it, he walked back up to the main hall. Farkas and Vilkas were already there, helping with the preparations. They looked as if they had bathed recently as well, making Oliver assume Tilma had ran baths for the whole Circle.

A few minutes later, Aela and Lilliana emerged from the living quarters, both having a discussion about something. Oliver eyed the two, wondering what they were talking about. They seemed to end their talk and Lilliana walked over to Oliver.

“What were you two talking about over there? Looked like something important,” Oliver asked.

“I didn’t really wanna bathe in the openness of the whelp’s quarters, so Aela and I moved the tub to her room and I bathed in there,” Lilliana said and walked off to join Tilma and Ria in the preparations. Now Oliver knew what he would do as his first act as Harbinger. He would just have to talk to Aela first.

Putting the thought aside, he walked back down to the living quarters and into _his_ room. Oliver figured that the celebration wouldn’t start for a while, so he decided to look through his room. On the shelves, he found a strange stone. It was pink, and was . . . _floating_ in a golden case. Confused and somewhat frightened by the item, he put it back on the shelves.

Looking around the shelves some more, Oliver found a small coinpurse. He hesitated. He knew it was Kodlak’s . . . but Kodlak was dead . . . _and_ his grandfather. Oliver knew that Kodlak would want him to have it, so he took it. It was in the Harbinger’s room, and he was the Harbinger now. Wouldn’t that make it his?

Looking on the table at the foot of the bed, he found a fat coin purse, and another on the small table in the corner as well. In the antechamber of the room, he found a few more coin purses. The total added up to be about two hundred septims. Oliver would make sure to spend it on something good. After all, it was Kodlak’s.

Looking around more, Oliver found some alchemical ingredients, which he gathered and would make sure to give to Lilliana. He also found some interesting books, which he considered reading later. Going back to the bedroom, he looked in a bedside table, and found a journal. It was Kodlak’s. Oliver put the book back in the table, not wanting to read the journal right now. It seemed too soon.

“Hey, Oliver,” A voice said from behind him. He turned to see Lilliana standing in the doorway. She had a small smile on her face.

“What is it?” Oliver asked.

“Tilma said she’s almost ready. Seems the word has spread, and some citizens are gathering, too. Some say the Jarl might even attend.” Lilliana smiled.

“Really?” Oliver asked, standing up and following the girl to the main hall.

“Really. Everyone is eager to congratulate you on your new position, but now that I have the chance to do something before anyone else, congratulations.” Lilliana smiled even harder.

“Thanks, Lilly. Thanks for being there for me through all of this, too,” Oliver said honestly.

“I should thank you for saving me and bringing me here. Now, I have something worth fighting for,” Lilliana said.

“Which is . . .?”

She just stood there, a slight blush creeping onto her face. “All these friends I’ve made here, that’s something worth fighting for,” She said after a minute.

“Yeah, it is isn’t it?”

Lilliana just nodded and walked away. Oliver wasn’t quite sure what happened, but decided to go along with it.

“Oliver, come on! This is for you, ya know! Don’t just stand there!” Torvar said and pulled Oliver to the middle of the room. Many citizens of Whiterun had gathered in the hall. Ysolda, Carlotta and her daughter, most of the Gray-Manes, even some Battle-Borns, Amren and his daughter, Braith, who loved bullying Lars Battle-Born, Farengar, Proventus, Adrianne and her husband, Irileth, the Jarl’s housecarl, and even the Jarl’s kids attended. The hall was full of people. Even some people Oliver didn’t know too well came. Mikael, the bard from the Bannered Mare, came as well, and shot Oliver a smile before beginning to play his lute. This confused Oliver, having intimidated the man shortly after he arrived in Whiterun, he thought the bard would have a bad attitude towards him, but apparently he was wrong.

The celebration was in full swing when Oliver was pulled to the front of the room, tankard still in hand.

“To the new Harbinger!” Torvar toasted. Many people cheered in agreement. Many more toasts were made to, well, just about everything. After everyone had gotten a good amount of mead in their systems, and the parents had sent the kids home, Mikael started playing more upbeat music, and the room was cleared into a makeshift dance floor. Njada and Athis danced together on the floor. They seemed to be getting along tonight.

Lilliana, along with many other people got on the floor and began dancing. Oliver couldn’t help but to watch the blonde girl sway on the floor along to the music. Many men came and offered to dance with her, but she refused them all. Oliver also couldn’t help but to feel happy that she danced with no other man.

“Mikael will play a slow song soon, probably,” Vilkas said from aside Oliver.

“Yeah, so?” Oliver asked.

“For the Harbinger, you sure are dumb sometimes!” Vilkas laughed. “When they play the slow song, you should dance with Lilliana. The Gods know she likes you. Why else would she refuse all those other men if she didn’t have someone else in mind? You like her, too. When I was still a werewolf,” he started talking in a low voice, “I could smell your scent change when you looked at her. There’s no denying that your wolf thinks that Lilly is its mate. Have you not noticed before that when you look at her, an extreme longing comes over you? Your wolf wants Lilliana as its mate. Your wolf thinks that Lilly is your match. Aela and I have been noticing lately that your scent changed when you looked at Lilliana. You should listen to your wolf.”

And with that, Vilkas stood and walked away. What he said _did_ make Oliver think. He looked over at Lilliana, who was singing along to Ragnar the Red with many other patrons, and felt what Vilkas was talking about: a longing for the girl in front of him. Everything she did seemed to pull him in. Every word she said drew his attention. He was completely infatuated with her and everything she did. Her scent _was_ appealing he noticed. He decided to take up the offer to dance with her. When Mikael played the slow song, Oliver would pop the question.

A few minutes passed. Lilliana kept dancing, Oliver kept watching. Then, Mikael started playing a slower song, and people started to pair up. Lilliana froze, glanced at Oliver, and saw that he was still sitting. Her face fell, and she walked over to a table and sat down, watching the people dancing with each other. Seeing Lilliana all by herself gave Oliver the courage to walk over there.

“I have a question,” Oliver announced.

“What is it?” Lilliana asked with a smile she was evidently trying her hardest to contain.

Oliver took a deep breath. There was no backing out now.

“Will you dance with me?” Oliver held his hand out. Lilliana took it with a surprised look.

“I don’t know how.”

“That’s okay. I do. I’m supposed to lead, anyway. You follow.” Oliver smiled. As he led Lilliana to the floor, Oliver looked over and spotted Vilkas, who gave a smirk and a thumbs-up.

Oliver and Lilliana swayed on the floor along with the other couples. Vilkas, along with Farkas and Aela, just smiled at them.

Lilliana grinned, evidently happy to be in Oliver’s arms.

Oliver tightened his grip on Lilliana, to make sure she didn’t slip away from him. His wolf growled in response. It seemed happy, so Oliver continued to spin Lilliana around on the floor.

He didn’t want that to ever end, but Mikael started playing more upbeat music, and the two broke apart.

“That was fun,” Lilliana said with a smile.

“Yes, yes it was,” Oliver replied. Lilliana’s stomach growled loudly. “Hungry?” Oliver laughed.

“Haven’t eaten anything all day . . .” she mumbled and walked towards the table.

Oliver just laughed.

~~~

The Companions slept in the next day, sleeping off hangovers. Most got up around noon to find Tilma cleaning. While everyone else ate in silence, Oliver went to talk to Aela in her room.

“You busy?” he asked.

“Not really,” Aela said and looked up from cleaning her armor.

“I have a question.”

“Fire away.”

“Since Lilliana is in the Circle and all, is it okay if she takes Skjor’s room?” Oliver asked.

“Why ask me?” Aela looked puzzled.

“Didn’t you and Skjor have a _thing_? I wanted to know how you would feel about Lilliana taking his room.”

Aela sighed. “We did. Lilly feels like a younger sister to me now. I like her fire. I wouldn’t mind at all if she took his room.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“All right. I’ll tell Lilliana when I see her,” Oliver said and walked out. He found Lilliana sitting at the table, eating small bites of bread and sipping on a hangover cure made by Tilma along with everyone else. “I have a question,” Oliver told her.

“Hmm?”

“How would you like to take Skjor’s old room? I thought it was unfair for a Circle member to still be stuck in the whelp’s quarters. You can start moving in whenever you’re ready.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Oliver smiled.

“That’s a stupid question! Of course I’ll take it!” Lilliana said and walked down to the living quarters.

­~~~

Lilliana spent most of the day rearranging Skjor’s old room. With the help of Aela, she moved her chest into his room, and moved some of Skjor’s things out. Aela decided to keep them as her own. Lilliana decided to keep some of Skjor’s books to read, and the alchemical ingredients, until she came to some coin purses.

“Do you want these, too?” Lilliana asked Aela.

“You take them. I already have enough. I’m sure he’d be fine with you taking them. After all, he did like your fire.” Aela smiled and handed the coin purses to her. Lilliana smiled.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.” Aela smiled as well. Lilliana’s room finally looked like hers. A weapon rack was running along one wall, holding her elven bow, Skyforge steel sword, and her old hunting bow. Three more slots were empty. Two shield racks hung above the weapon rack, but were empty . . . for now.

An alchemy lab stood in one corner in front of the bed, a shelf by it with books on it. A chest also sat near the alchemy lab, containing Lilliana’s alchemy ingredients. A desk ran along half of the back wall between the bed and weapon rack, rolls of paper, quills, and bottles of ink atop it. Two chests stood by a mannequin, wearing Lilliana’s leather armor. A small wardrobe stood by the door, containing some clothes. Lilliana stood in the middle of the room, now alone, and admired the room that was now hers. She had never had a room this large to herself before. She had to make sure to thank Oliver again when she saw him. Speaking of which . . .

Lilliana turned to see Oliver leaning against the doorframe.

“Thank you again for giving me this room. I’ve never had one this big to myself before,” Lilliana said.

“Now you do. And, you’re welcome. You deserve it.” Oliver smiled.

“I can tell you’ll make a great Harbinger. I’m sure Kodlak is up in Sovngarde with Ysgramor, nodding their heads in approval. When Kodlak named you Harbinger, he knew what he was doing.” Lilliana walked forward and gave Oliver a hug.

“I’m sure he is, too.” Oliver returned the hug. His beast growled in response, wanting more. Oliver ignored it. Lilliana’s stomach growled as well, interrupting the hug. The two pulled apart, laughing.

“Guess I should have eaten lunch.” She chuckled.

“Everyone else is eating dinner. C’mon.”

Lilliana ate her usual chicken, bread, potato, and sweetroll plate for dinner. Oliver noticed that she favored chicken, bread, and potatoes over everything else.

“Is that your favorite dish?” Oliver asked.

“Aye. I like beef stew, too. I’m not a big fan of leeks, and I love carrots and sweetrolls! Tomatoes, not so much, or cabbage . . .” Lilliana ranted in response, “Basically, I like food, just not tomatoes, leeks, cabbage--“

“The only vegetables you like are potatoes?” Oliver interrupted.

“Exactly.” Lilliana smiled.

When Oliver finished his horker steak, he noticed that Lilliana had suddenly disappeared. He found her in the training yard, looking out at the plains, dimly lit by the moonlight. Oliver walked up and tapped her shoulder. She jumped.

“You scared me!” she laughed and lightly punched Oliver’s shoulder.

“Didn’t hurt!” Oliver smirked.

“If I was trying, it would have!” Lilliana countered. Through their interactions, the neckline of Lilliana’s shirt had fallen down, revealing her cleavage. She didn’t notice, but Oliver did. His beast roared in want.

Suddenly, Oliver found himself kissing Lilliana. His hand gripped the back of her head, holding it into place, also tangling his fingers in with her long, blonde locks.

Lilliana gasped in surprise, but quickly began kissing Oliver back, bringing her hands to his shoulders, gripping them. They kissed deeply. It was unlike anything Lilliana had ever experienced before, but somehow, her mouth and tongue knew exactly what to do. _Is this a dream, or am I really kissing the man I want to be with?_ Lilliana thought.

Oliver growled. The beast within him roared, angry because Oliver was only kissing. Lilliana pulled back.

“Why did you--?” Lilliana started, confused by his growl. Oliver opened his eyes, but they were not blue, they were yellow. Lilliana quickly angered.

“Was it Oliver kissing me, or the beast? Were you just doing that because your beast needed a woman to satisfy it, or was it Oliver kissing because, well, he wanted to?”

“Lilliana, what are you talking about?” Oliver knew exactly what she was talking about. He was having a hard time answering her question himself.

“Don’t lie! Aela told me just how you men wolves are! The urge to ‘mate’ gets stronger! Were you just doing that because your beast needed a woman?”

Oliver’s tongue seemed glued to the roof of his mouth. He honestly didn’t know the answer.

“That’s what I thought,” Lilliana said, voice cold, and full of hurt. “Thought I wouldn’t be used again like those bandits used me . . . guess I was wrong,” she mumbled as she walked away.

 _Sweet Talos, what just happened?_ Oliver thought. 

~~~

Lilliana stormed into her room and slammed the door behind her. She locked it. Divines knew she couldn’t stay there with Oliver around.

Furiously, she changed into her leather armor, strapped her bow and arrows to her back, and her sword to her hip. She grabbed her pack and put her money, extra arrows, potions, alchemy ingredients, and everything else she wanted to take with her in. She filled another bag with clothes, some papers, and Talos knows what else.

Quickly, she wrote a letter to Aela saying why she left, that she didn’t know when she’d be back, and that she was sorry. Lilliana slipped it under Aela’s door when she walked out of her room and closed the door behind her. Silently, she walked out of Jorrvaskr.

Lilliana wasn’t sure where she was going, but she had an idea, and it was as good as any. She walked out of Whiterun and towards the stables. She would have to make sure to bribe the driver to tell no one where she was going.

 _Why do people always use me? No one’s going to use me where I’m going. I’m going to be appreciated._ Lilliana thought.

**To be continued . . .**

 

~~~

**No one saw that coming, did ya? The sequel to this will be called “Temper of a Dragon: Shadow Walker”. It will mostly focus on Lilliana and what she does while trying to forget about Oliver, but he will be in there, too. I’m sure that turn of events made some of you mad. That’s what I was going for. Now you’ll be excited for the sequel! Make sure you follow me so you’ll know when I post it! And again, thanks for the continued support from you guys!**

**-Rayne**


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